asparagus cashew rice pilaf

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Asparagus Cashew Rice Pilaf from Sarah:
(recipe from Allrecipes)

1/4 cup butter

2 ounces uncooked spaghetti, broken

1/4 cup minced onion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/4 cup uncooked jasmine rice

2 1/4 cups vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup cashew halves

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Increase heat to medium, and stir in spaghetti, cooking until coated with the melted butter and lightly browned.

Stir onion and garlic into saucepan, and cook about 2 minutes, until tender. Stir in jasmine rice, and cook about 5 minutes. Pour in vegetable broth. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and cook 20 minutes until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed.

Place asparagus in a separate medium saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender but firm.

Mix asparagus and cashew halves into the rice mixture and serve warm.

best-ever farro salad

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 Best-Ever Farro Salad from Jenny T:
(recipe from delish)

1 c whole- grain farro

2 c low sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 bay leaf

1 large shallot, sliced very thin

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 T apple cider vinegar

1 T dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

freshly ground black pepper

2 c lightly packed arugula

1 green apple, chopped

1/2 cup shaved parmesan

1/4 cup freshly chopped basil

2 T freshly chopped parsley

1/4 c toasted pecans, roughly chopped

In a medium saucepan, combine farro, broth, salt and bay leaf. bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook, stirring occasionally, until farro is tender and no broth remains, about 30 minutes. When farro is cooked, transfer to a large bowl to cool.

In the meantime, make fried shallots: in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine oil and shallots. When the shallots begin to bubble, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove shallots from oil with slotted spoon and place on a paper-towel lined plate and season with salt. Let oil cool.

Make dressing: in medium bowl, combine the cooled olive oil with vinegar, mustard, and honey and season with salt and pepper.

Assemble salad: Combine cooked farro, crispy shallots, arugula, apple, parmesan, basil, parsley and pecans. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat.

simple crusty bread

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Simple Crusty Bread from Debbie:
(recipe from NY Times)

Yield: 4 loaves

1 1/2 T yeast

1 1/2 T kosher salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour, more for dusting dough

Cornmeal

In a large bowl mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal. let rest 4o minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

roasted cauliflower with chickpeas

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Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas from Michelle:

1 head of cauliflower cut into florets 
1 can chickpeas

2.5 tbsp honey, divided (I used one packet of stevia)

3 tbsp olive oil (or more - I don’t measure), divided

¾ tbsp smoked paprika

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 avocado (I did more), chopped

½ cup chopped parsley

⅓ cup red onion, minced

Juice of 1lime

¼ cup Sunflower seeds

Preheat the oven to 425. 

Add the cauliflower and chickpeas to a bowl, toss with olive oil, stevia or honey, smoked paprika, garlic

powder and salt. Toss to combine. Spread the mixture onto a sheet pan, roast for 30-35

minutes, until tender and brown. 

Add the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas to a bowl, add the avocado, parsley, onion, lime juice,

the remainder of the olive oil. Toss to combine. Top with sunflower seeds

Notes: I have found that I want the cauliflower to cook longer than the chickpeas so I season them separately and start the cauliflower 10-15 minutes before the chickpeas. 

If not eating the whole thing at once, dish up how much you’ll be eating and only add as much avocado as you want with it. It makes great leftovers but not with the avocado in it. So I just add it to each portion as I eat it. 

air fryer brussel sprouts with bacon

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Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts with Bacon from Andrea:

(recipe from always use butter)

1/2 lb brussel sprouts cleaned, bottom removed and cut in half
1/4 lb bacon chopped
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T olive oil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper

 Preheat the air fryer by running it for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. In a small bowl mix together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Place the brussel sprouts in one half of an air fryer basket and place the chopped bacon in the other half. If there is any balsamic mixture left over you can save this to pour over before serving.

Air fry for 5 minutes then remove the air fryer basket and mix the brussel sprouts and bacon gently still keeping them on separate sides of the air fryer.

Air fry for 5 more minutes, then remove the air fryer basket and mix the bacon and brussel sprouts together. Raise temperature and Air fry for 5 minutes at 390 degrees, until bacon is crispy.

If desired, pour over any remaining balsamic mixture from the bowl, then serve.

loaded fresh basil and sweet corn couscous green salad

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Loaded Fresh Basil and Sweet Corn Couscous Green Salad from Brittany:

(Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Dressing:

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 T chopped green onion

1/4 tsp salt

black pepper

Salad:

1 box Far East roasted garlic and olive oil couscous (or parmesan and pine nut) 

1 T olive oil

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

12-15 cups chopped romaine lettuce

6-8 strips bacon, Cooked and crumbled

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup fresh corn, cut from the cobb

1/2 cup fresh parmesan

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

For the dressing: combine all ingredients in a blender together and process until smooth. Refrigerate until needed. Dressing can be made several days in advance (flavor gets better with time).

For the salad: make the couscous by bringing the chicken broth and olive oil to a simmer in a saucepan on the stovetop. Stir in the couscous and seasoning packet. Cover the saucepan and let sit for 5-7 minutes. Fluff with fork and let cool to room temperature before using.

In large serving bowl, add lettuce, cooled couscous, cranberries, bacon, cheese, corn and pine nuts.

Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.

 

peasant bread

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Peasant Bread from Beckie:

1 package dry yeast
2 c warm water
1 T sugar
4 c flour
oil
corn meal
melted butter

Place yeast, water, sugar and salt in warm bowl. Proof and stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until blended. Do not knead. Cover and let rise one hour or until doubled in size. Flour hands, removed dough from bowl and place in 2 rounds on an old cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal. Let rise an additional hour. Brush the top with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 375 and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush again with butter. Serve warm.

Tips: I use a large rubber scraper to divide the dough in the bowl and scoop it out. This dough is very sticky. Sometimes I just spray the pan with Pam because it's faster and easier than oil. I usually use about 2 T. butter. Sometimes I like to substitute 1/4 c whole wheat flour for white, gives a nice flavor and texture.

 

cream cheese and pepper jelly appetizer

 

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Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly Appetizer from Erin:

1 block cream cheese

1 jar of Trader Joes Hot & Sweet Pepper Jelly

Multi Grain Crackers

Plate cream cheese. Pour desired amount of pepper jelly over cream cheese. Serve with crackers and enjoy.