Giant Scallions

I just had to show you the giant scallions I just got at the Farm Stand.  I mean look at them.  They're huge!  I took a picture next to a book to try and scale the scallions a little and the book is dwarfed!

I have never seen scallions so big.  I dropped by the Farm Stand to pick up some salad stuff and got a beautiful head of romaine lettuce, a small cucumber, a pint of blueberries and these scallions.  They were super tasty in the salad too.  I didn't put the blueberries in the salad but will certainly enjoy them later.  They just looked so plump and delicious.  My local farm stand is run by a farm a couple of towns away called Farmer Dave's.  Their produce is delicious and I think I am going to sign up for their winter vegetable CSA.  I have actually never done a CSA before and I really want to.  I will be supporting local farmers and getting incredibly fresh produce.  That makes me happy.  It will also allow me to try vegetables I have never had before and get creative in the kitchen.  I'm excited.  Especially if I can get mutant sized vegetables like these scallions.  M is going to flip when he sees these.  They are bigger than Maddux for goodness sake!  I think I'm going to be eating scallions for a while.

Shrimp with Noodles and Warm Tomato Salad

Guess what, friends?  M has one more week of class!  He presented his thesis the other night so that's done.  I was so glad to get that thesis out of our lives.  I will be honest, I did a happy dance on Wednesday morning.  There will be another happy dance next week.  Since I am in a good mood, let's talk about shrimp. I love shrimp. Shrimp scampi is one of my favorite dishes and I like to try different variations of it so I made one.

This is a very tasty summer dish.  This one is definitely different but it was so good.  I loaded it with fresh veggies.  It has a warm tomato and onion salad on  the top.  Yum!!  I love tomato and onion salad.  And I used fresh basil from my little herb box.  Yes, I am growing herbs - basil, thyme, and parsley.  Although the parsley isn't doing very well.  Sigh.  But I am growing cherry tomatoes too and they are finally red.  Sadly, my own homegrown tomatoes were not used in this recipe but it was tasty nonetheless.

Shrimp with Noodles and Warm Tomato Salad

Adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray August 2010

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

10 basil leaves, thinly sliced into ribbons

1/4 red onion, minced

extra virgin olive oil

1 lb shrimp, fresh or frozen

1 bag egg noodles or other pasta

1 garlic clove, minced

half a bag of baby spinach

grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 325.  Place the tomatoes cut side up on the baking sheet.  Place in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt generously and cook the noodles according to package directions.

While the noodles are cooking and the tomatoes are roasting, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat with the garlic.  Once the garlic has become fragrant, add the shrimp in a single layer.  Cook on each side until pink; about 5-6 minutes total. 

Reserve a cup of the noodle/pasta water before you drain it.  Add the noodles to the skillet with the garlic.  Add some of the reserved noodle/pasta water and toss together.  Add the spinach and wilt it in.  Add as much grated cheese as you like and toss everything together.  If it still looks a little dry to you, add some more of the reserved noodle/pasta water.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and put into a bowl.  Add the parsley, basil, and onion.  Season with salt and pepper and toss with a drizzle of olive oil.  Serve this warm tomato salad on top of the shrimp noodles.  Top with more cheese, if desired.

Chicken with Caponata Ragout

Another chicken recipe!  Bet you never guessed that was coming.  This was something very different and I loved it.  M only liked it but it still gets a place on this blog.  The original recipe called for this dish to be cooked in the oven for about 20 minutes but it has been so hot in my neck of the woods lately that there was no way I was turning the oven on in the house.  So, I adapted the recipe to have everything cook on the stovetop.  It worked out lovely.

It was kind of a sweet and sour caponata because there is vinegar and brown sugar in this recipe.  I loved the combination and it made the eggplant have an amazing flavor.  Eggplant isn't always my favorite but I enjoyed it very much in this dish.  It certainly was a flavor profile that M and I don't have very often and it was just the ticket.

Chicken with Caponata Ragout
Adapted from Every Day With Rachael Ray August 2010

6-8 chicken tenders
salt and pepper
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small eggplant, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 ribs celery, chopped
8-10 button mushrooms, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
cooked rice

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 tbsp olive oil.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook on each side for about 5 minutes.  Remove chicken from pan to a plate and set aside.

Add 1 tbsp more of olive oil to the skillet.  Add the eggplant and cook over medium heat until softened, stirring often.  Remove eggplant from the pan to bowl and set aside.  Add the last tablespoon olive oil to the skillet and add the onion, garlic, celery, and mushrooms to the skillet.  Cook the veggies for about 3 minutes stirring often.  Add the cooked eggplant, tomato, tomato sauce, and chicken stock to the skillet.  Stir to combine.  Add the chicken back to the pan.  Let everything simmer together for about 10 minutes.

Take the chicken out of the pan and place on a plate or platter.  Add the basil, vinegar, and brown sugar.  Stir to dissolve the sugar and to combine all the flavors.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve the chicken and caponata with cooked rice.

Tomato and Feta Pasta Salad

Pasta salad has become sort of my signature which is funny because I don't make them that often.  Several years ago I made a pasta salad for a party and it was a major hit.  Now everyone loves it and wants me to make it a lot.  It was Rachael Ray's Supreme Pizza Pasta Salad and it is really awesome.  I have not changed around any of the ingredients so go check it out and make it.  My family just calls it "Noelle's Pasta Salad" but really, it's Rachael's.

For the Fourth of July, my family hosted a little gathering and shocking, I was asked to make the pasta salad.  I didn't want to do the same one so I came up with something different.  I was looking through the latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine and there was this recipe for a pasta salad with this green olive mixture, capers and anchovies.  I thought it sounded very interesting but I knew not everyone would like those flavors so I just sort of came up with my own.  I can't really say that I adapted it from the magazine because it is not even close.  The only similarity is a mustardy dressing and tomatoes so this one might actually be "Noelle's Pasta Salad." 

Tomato and Feta Pasta Salad
A recipe by Noelle at A Homemade Kitchen

1 lb short cut pasta, I used gemelli
1-2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, chopped
1/4 red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 8oz tub of feta cheese
6-8 fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt the water liberally and cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain well and rinse under cold water to cool the pasta down.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, add the tomatoes and cucumber to a big bowl.  I soaked the diced onion in some water for a little while before adding it to the salad so you can go ahead and do that as well.   Soaking the onion sort of tames the bite an onion can have so it is not quite as strong.  Or just add it right into the bowl with the tomatoes and cucumber.

In a small bowl add the garlic, red wine vinegar and dijon mustard.  Whisk together.  Slowly stream in the olive oil continuing to whisk until it has emulsified and all come together.

Add the pasta to the bowl with the veggies.  Also add in the feta cheese and basil.  Pour the dressing all over the salad.  Mix all the ingredients together to thoroughly combine.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Either serve immediately or cover and place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours for the flavors to meld.  I made this salad several hours ahead of time and it makes the flavors more pronounced. 

Note: It was fantastic the next day.  M and I brought it to work as our lunch.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

When M and I were dating, my mother would make him banana bread quite frequently.  Once she found out he loved banana bread, she went a little crazy.  Not that it was a bad thing; banana bread is super delicious.  Since M and I have been married, the banana bread making has become very infrequent.  Really, it became non-existant.  M needed some banana bread.

I pulled out the recipe my mother always used and went to town.  Then I had this brillant idea (can I say that about myself?) to add chocolate chips.  My friends, the angels sang in my kitchen that day.  Chocolate chip banana bread was born and M devoured it in about a day and a half.  I promise to make this bread a more common occurance in our home.  It should be in yours as well.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Adapted from The India House

3 overly ripe bananas

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup melted butter, slightly cooled

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips, milk or semi sweet

Preheat the oven to 325.  Grease a loaf pan.

Peel bananas and place in a bowl.  Mash with a fork or a potato masher.  Add the sugar, egg, flour, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Mix to combine.  Add the chocolate chips and stir until those are just combined.

Add the batter to the loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour.  Do not overbake!  Remove from oven and let cool in the pan.  Once the bread has cooled, remove the bread from the loaf pan to a plate.  Slice and serve.  M likes to put butter on his and then warm it in the microwave for a few seconds.  I just like to add some butter and eat it right away.

Store the bread covered and it will keep for up to 3 days or so.  It does not last that long in our house though.

Happy 4th of July - One day late

Happy 4th of July - one day late! Hey, I was busy. Anyway, I hope everyone had a great day. M and I kind of hung around the house in the morning doing housework and homework and then went over to his parents to grill some food. We aren't allowed a grill where we live so my in laws so graciously allow us to hijack theirs once in a while. But it's really in their favor; they get a grilled dinner they don't have to cook.


M grilled up some swordfish that was seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter.  That's right, he slathered the fish with butter and threw it on the grill.  Surprisingly, the grill didn't explode.  There was also steak tips and we tossed red and orange bell peppers, onion, asparagus, zucchini and summer squash in olive oil, salt and pepper and threw all those on the grill too.  It was a fabulous grilled dinner.  Very light and delicious.  We then went out for ice cream which is the perfect ending to any meal.  Today, we go to my parents.  I don't really know what we will be eating but I do know that I am going to bring a pasta salad.

Stay cool!

Balsamic Chicken with Spinach and White Beans

I mentioned a few posts ago that I hadn't been cooking from any cookbooks lately.  Well, I've gotten back to it a little bit.  Things have been really busy with school but guess what, M has only 4 weeks left of his MBA program!  Let me just tell you folks how excited I am for this.  It has been 21 months and I am very ready for him to be done and to start the next phase of our lives.  Even though I am in school too, it isn't quite as demanding as his MBA program.  His being in this program has limited what we were able to do and has taken up a lot of time.  But, the end is near.  Let's celebrate with some chicken.

M loves chicken.  I think I've mentioned that before.  This being the case, expect a lot of chicken recipes here.  This one in particular was super delicious.  It included spinach and white beans.  I love beans.  All kinds of beans.  And, I added bacon.  Need I say more?

Balsamic Chicken with Spinach and White Beans

Adapted from Express Lane Meals by Rachael Ray

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

garlic powder

salt and pepper

6-8 chicken tenders or 4 boneless chicken breasts

5 slices of bacon, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup white wine

2 cups chicken stock

1 14oz can cannellini beans, drained

1 12oz bag of baby spinach

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

In a shallow dish, combine the balsamic vinegar with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and some garlic powder.  Place the chicken in the bowl with the vinegar and oil and coat the chicken.  Set aside while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the bacon.  Cook the bacon until it is crispy.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate.  Drain most of bacon fat out of the skillet.  Return the pan to the stove and add a little bit of olive oil.  Add the onions, garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.  Cook until the onions are browned, about 4 minutes.  Add the white wine and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and let cook for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat another large skillet over medium high heat.  When hot, add the chicken and cook for about 6 minutes on each side until the chicken is cooked through. 

In the skillet with the veggies and stock, add the beans. Cook for about a minute until the beans are heated through.  Add the cooked bacon.  Discard the bay leaf.  Stir in the spinach and parsley and stir until the spinach is wilted.

Serve the spinach with the chicken.