Spinach Potato Salad

Although these past few days have been rain filled spring weather, today marks the unofficial start of summer. While the official day doesn't start for another few weeks, people have already started their barbecues early this year!

We started a few weeks ago when the weather shot up to an unseasonable 80+ degrees. One of my favorite things to eat at a barbecue are actually the sides believe it or not. Since I don't eat too much red meat, I'm normally limited to grilled chicken and load up on sides.

One night, I was looking in my pantry and had a few odd and ends ingredients to use up. This recipe used up all my eggs, potatoes, and spinach! I decided to combine it all into this dish and it came out great! Although I didn't really measure the ingredients, I added mustard and mayo to taste, and that's about how much I used. Now with the weather warming up, this would be a great dish to add to your next cookout menu as well!

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Spinach Potato Salad

a cathy's kitchen journey original recipe





ingredients:

• 4 medium russet potatoes (or an equivalent amount of red potatoes)
• one big handful baby spinach
• 2 heaping TBSP mayo
• 1 tsp spicy brown mustard
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

directions:

1. Scrub the potatoes clean, peel if desired. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
2. Steam in a pot with water for about 15 minutes, or until fork tender.
3. Remove from heat, transfer to a large bowl and immediately add the spinach to wilt slightly. Mix in the remaining ingredients.
4. Cool in the fridge before serving.

Yield: 4 servings

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Potato Sausage Breakfast Scramble

Most weekends, I try to make something new for breakfast or dinner. I don't have much time on weeknights, so it's my time to experiment. Sometimes recipes fail, but this one was definitely a success.

I received this breakfast scramble for the recipe swap and I knew Gary would love it too. We're huge fans of potatoes (the theme of the swap) as well as the eggs and sausage. We've made similar breakfasts using the same type of ingredients, but I don't recall ever scrambling everything together.

Since we don't eat pork, I used some fresh turkey sausages for this. The links I bought were in a 1lb package, so I used half. I also used two potatoes instead of one, well, because one just didn't seem like enough. In the end, Gary asked for more, so this was definitely a hit!

Remember to check out Sarah's blog for the full roundup of potato recipes, including my submission of sweet potato chili! Yes, sweet potato counts!

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Potato Sausage Breakfast Scramble

recipe by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Cooking for Fun




ingredients:

• 1 TBSP oil
  
• 8 oz turkey sausages, casings removed
  
• 2 potatoes
  
• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 3 eggs, beaten
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• shredded cheese, optional
  

directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add oil and brown sausage, breaking it up as it cooks.
2. Add potatoes and onion to the pan, and add a splash of water. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
3. Move sausage and potato mixture to one side, add egg to the empty side of the pan and scramble. Gradually mix into the sausage mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. If adding cheese, add now and cover until melted. Transfer to bowls and serve.

Yield: 2 servings

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Pear Pie

To tell you that I've had this recipe bookmarked for a while is an understatement. I saw this recipe almost 3 years ago, and I just got around to making it.

I don't really have any excuse other than we usually don't have pears on hand. Since pears are one of the fruits we don't buy often I totally forgot about this recipe until now. Whole Foods had some organic pears on sale, so I remembered this recipe when I snatched some up.

Lately, I've had a bit of bad luck with pie crusts. Since I need to make a dairy free crust for Gary, I haven't found the right crust, until now! This crust rolled out wonderfully, and it didn't crack while I was rolling it out. I think I've found the one! Gary also thought the crust worked out well and that it had a buttery aspect to even though I didn't use butter.

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Pear Pie
crust adapted from Being Vegan and Getting Away with It
pie filling adapted from Honey and Jam

ingredients:
pie crust:
1 cup all purpose flour (plus more as needed and for dusting)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup non hydrogenated shortening
4 TBSP ice water

filling:
2-3 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4 inch thickness (I used 2 pears and it was sufficient)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter (I used earth balance)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten

directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F (175°s C).

prepare pie crust:
In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour and salt. Cut in shortening using a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture looks like course crumbs. Slowly pour in water while mixing with fork in a circle. Once all the water is in, knead and form the dough into a ball. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in fridge for 10 minutes. (I skipped this and it was still fine.

Roll out dough for a 9" pie pan and place in pan. Cut off excess dough from the edges and flute or press edges with a fork.

prepare filling:
Peel and cut pears in half. Remove cores and slice into 1/4 inch thickness (approx). Place the pear slices down in the pie crust with the small ends toward the center to create a circular design in one layer. Chop excess pears and place in the center.

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and vanilla. Pour mixture over the top of the pears to completely cover.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, until pears are soft and custard is set in the center. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

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Key Lime Bars

For the July 4 holiday, I was stumped when I was deciding on a dessert. I saw these and wanted to make it, but it wasn't dairy free, thus me making the brownies. However, I really wanted to make these since they looked so good, so I ended up making both.



I'm glad I made these, because they turned out beautifully. I'm not really a heavy dessert person, so these were still light from the citrus even though there was so much butter and eggs. These were a hit at the bbq as well, and I heard it was great with vanilla ice cream!

Also, I love key lime pie, so I thought key lime juice would be great instead of lemon. Since I'm in NY, key limes are hard to get by. I used some bottled juice I picked up from Fairway, and it worked wonderfully.

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Key Lime Bars
adapted from: allrecipes.com via I was Born to Cook

ingredients:
crust:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

batter:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup key lime juice

directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Mix in 2 cups of flour. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lime juice. Reserve 1 cup of batter for dyeing (eyeball it). This is totally optional. You can pour all the batter over the crust without the marbling effect.

Pour batter over the baked crust.

Dip a fork or small whisk into green gel food coloring or add a few drops of liquid food coloring. Whisk into the reserved batter. Pour over the pan to create lines in the middle (it's ok if it's messy). Using a toothpick, drag through the batter to create a marbled look.

Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting. The bars will firm up as they cool.

Makes 24 squares.

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Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon Lime Curd & Swiss Meringue

This cake was a slight adaptation of one that I previously made. My sister requested a lemon and vanilla cake like the one I’ve made previously for her daughter’s birthday. I decided to use the same recipe but adapted it slightly.

From what I recall, the first one I made had thick layers of cake. I wanted to fill the layers in between with some more curd, so I made a lemon layer and a lime layer. You can’t really tell, but they are two different flavors. I also took into consideration my family’s tastes since they don’t like sweets. I decided to make a Swiss meringue buttercream to use up the extra egg whites from the extra layer of curd. It was a perfect complement to the cake!

Although the curds tasted different when I was making them, they sort of meshed together in the end and tasted the same. None-the-less, the cake was a nice an refreshing spring cake.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon and Lime Curd Filling and Swiss Meringue Frosting
cake and frosting adapted from: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
curd fillings from: Williams Sonoma

ingredients:

cake:	lemon curd:	frosting
3 1/4 cups sifted cake flour	5 egg yolks	5 egg whites
1 1/2 TBSP baking powder	1/2 cup sugar	1 cup plus 2 TBSP granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt	1/4 cup fresh lemon juice	pinch of salt
1 TBSP vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean	Grated zest of 2 lemons	1 pound butter (4 sticks)
1 cup plus 2 TBSP milk	6 TBSP (3/4 stick) unsalted butter	1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 cups sugar	lime curd:
5 large egg whites at room temp	repeat above, replacing lemon w/lime (about 3 limes)

directions:
prepare curds:
In a heavy saucepan before turning on the heat, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk for 1 minute more. Set the pan over low heat and cook gently, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Cover tightly and refrigerate before using. Makes about 1 cup.

repeat with lime curd

*make sure the remaining 5 egg whites are in separate bowls. 5 will be for the cake, 5 for the frosting.

bake the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour or spray two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir vanilla seeds into milk.

Cream butter in your mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture to batter, alternating with the milk, and betting until just combined after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in 2 batches.

Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out cleanly when inserted in the center. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

make the frosting:
Place egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of your stand mixer. Place over over a small pot of simmering water. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is warm to the touch and no longer grainy. (test this by rubbing it with your fingertips.)

Transfer the bowl to the mixer. Using the whisk attachment, starting at low speed, and gradually increasing to medium-high. Whisk until stiff peaks form and continue to whisk until fluffy and glossy, about 10 minutes. At the end, the bottom of the bowl should be cool.

Reduce the speed to low. Cut the butter into tablespoon sizes, and gradually into the bowl. After adding all the butter, whisk in the vanilla.

Switch over to the paddle attachment, and continue to beat on low to get rid of all the air bubbles. Scrape the bowl, then continue to beat until completely smooth.

assemble the cake:
Cut each cake in half. You should have 4 layers now.

Place one layer on a cake board. Place some frosting in a piping bag or freezer bag. Pipe a line of frosting along the edge of the cake layer.

Pour lemon curd in the center and spread into an even layer. Place other cake layer on top. Spread a layer of frosting. Add the third cake layer, then top with the lime curd. Add the final cake layer, frost cake with remaining frosting and decorate as desired.

Store in fridge until serving.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

I hate it when a recipe calls for only egg yolks (or whites) because I end up stuck with finding another use for the rest of the egg. Many times, end up throwing it away. I was going to bake a cake for Gary’s parents’ birthday, and I started off looking for a filling. The lemon curd was what I went with, but now I had to find something to use up the 5 egg whites. I then saw that Martha’s vanilla bean cupcake recipe calls for 5 egg whites exactly. Perfect!

The cake came together very well. It wasn’t too sweet, just like his parents like it. The cake was light and almost angel food cake-like. Since this made a tall layer cake, I probably add another filling between the layers (I heard raspberry is nice with lemon curd), or half the cake recipe.

I used the same frosting I used for the Japanese Strawberry Shortcake for this, and it worked very well.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon Curd Filling
cake adapted from: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
lemon curd filling from: Williams Sonoma
frosting as see in previous recipe

 printable recipe

ingredients:

cake:	lemon curd:	frosting
3 1/4 cups sifted cake flour	5 egg yolks	1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 TBSP baking powder	1/2 cup sugar	4 tsp cold water
1/4 tsp salt	1/4 cup fresh lemon juice	1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1 TBSP pure vanilla extract	Grated zest of 2 lemons	1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup plus 2 TBSP milk	6 TBSP (3/4 stick) unsalted butter	1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 large egg whites at room temp

directions:
prepare lemon curd:
In a heavy saucepan before turning on the heat, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

Add the lemon juice and zest and whisk for 1 minute more. Set the pan over low heat and cook gently, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Cover tightly and refrigerate before using. Makes about 1 cup.

bake the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour or spray two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir vanilla into milk.

Cream butter in your mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture to batter, alternating with the milk, and betting until just combined after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in 2 batches.

Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out cleanly when inserted in the center. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

make the frosting:
Place mixing bowl in the fridge to cool down.

Put the cold water in a small saucepan.  Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and let stand for 5 minutes (do not stir).  Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon just until the gelatin dissolves.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool to room temperature.

In a cold mixing bowl and using a the wire whisk attachment, combine the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until slightly thickened.  Reduce speed of mixer and gradually pour the gelatin into the whipped cream mixture.  Then whip the mixture at high speed until stiff.

assemble the cake:
Place one layer on a cake board. Place some frosting in a piping bag or freezer bag. Pipe a line of frosting along the edge of the cake layer.

Pour lemon curd in the center and spread into an even layer. Place other cake layer on top.

Frost cake with remaining frosting and decorate as desired.

Store in fridge until serving.

Crustless Tomato Basil Spinach Quiche

When I started growing herbs in my Aerogarden, I seriously didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I really thought I would be able to use up fresh herbs whenever I want, but it seemed like the basil would grow super fast, and the rest didn’t. So far, I have only used the basil from the Aerogarden, and it’s been pretty good. I’m not so hopeful for the other plants though, they don’t seem to be growing so well.

When pressed for time and having nothing defrosted, I had to look up recipes for things I had on hand. I was thinking of making a vegetarian meal, but ended up adding meat to it. I wanted to work around the basil, so I had to think quick. I didn’t want to make pesto again, because I think I’ve had my fill already. I thought of the eggs I had in the fridge that I needed to use up, so I was thinking a quiche this time. Since the last quiche didn’t really fill me up, I wanted to bulk this one up so it would be more filling.

I couldn’t find a recipe I liked, so I decided to throw everything together and be hopeful. I didn’t have time to make a crust, so I opted for a crustless quiche again. I’m glad I tried this because it turned out great! It was filling and tasted great! The addition of the tomatoes and basil gave it a great flavor. I’m also glad I discovered the vegan cheese as well because it really helped with the flavor and texture. Gary thought this was a winner as well!

Crustless Tomato Basil Spinach Quiche
printable recipe

ingredients:
1 TBSP oil
1 onion, diced
1 10-oz pack frozen leaf spinach, defrosted and drained
2 frozen turkey breakfast sausages, chopped
5 eggs, beaten
1 tomato, chopped
a handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used vegan cheese)
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray cooking spray on a 9” pie pan or quiche pan. Set aside.

On medium-high heat, add oil to a saucepan. Sauté onions for a few minutes until clear. Add spinach and chopped sausage. Cook until spinach is wilted and sausage is cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine eggs, basil, tomatoes, cheese, more salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp each here). Remove spinach from heat, add to bowl and combine well. Transfer to prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Crustless Spinach Tofu Quiche

I’ve been meaning to make a quiche for some time now. However, since Gary can’t have dairy, it poses a minor problem. I wasn’t sure how I would substitute all that cheese that is usually thrown into a quiche. I also had some leftover tofu that needed to be used. What better way to make a quiche, since tofu is pretty much one of my staple cheese alternatives nowadays. I searched for vegan quiche recipes, but most of the reviews said it didn’t set very well. I then found these instructions on how to make a crustless quiche. I adapted to our dietary needs and it turned out pretty good. The eggs were light and fluffy and tasted similar to steamed eggs my mom used to make.

Another reason I made this was to boost our iron levels before donating blood. Although my HGB levels were super high at 31, when the minimum requirement was 12, I still didn’t do too well after donating. Gary’s HGB level was at 16. I think there are a few reasons I didn’t recover so well. First of all, the minimum weight is 110, and I barely passed. I also usually don’t eat or drink enough, so I was probably weak. What sucks is that as I type, 4 days later, the puncture area is still black and blue…well more yellow and blue bruised. (I don’t heal well either).

Crustless Spinach Tofu Quiche
printable recipe

ingredients:
1 small onion, diced
1 10 oz box frozen spinach thawed and drained
salt to taste
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups soy milk
6 oz firm tofu, crumbled
1/8 tsp salt (I would add more)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp white pepper

directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 9" pie pan or quiche pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Spray cooking oil in a pan and add onions. Cook until onions are turn clear. Add spinach and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat together the remaining ingredients.

Remove spinach from heat, spread spinach on the bottom the prepared pan. Pour egg mixture over the spinach.

Bake in oven for about 40 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. The quiche will be puffy, but will settle after 10 minutes.

The only change I would make would be adding more salt (since I didn’t add it to the spinach). I also found it a little runny, so I would bake it slightly longer or let refrigerate before serving.

Shrimp Omelet

This past week, we didn’t do a full grocery shopping trip. That meant, we didn’t have as many fresh ingredients in the fridge as I wanted. We always think about getting takeout as well, but in an effort to save money, I end up making something with ingredients I have on hand.

Gary’s mom makes something similar to this. I think my mom does too. We were discussing today and wondering why our moms cook so well. We chalk it up to the many years of experience they have. Hopefully, in 10 years, that will be the case with me. A side thought: is it me or does it seem like moms never seem to need a recipe for anything?? They seem to everything ingrained in their brains.

Anywho, I checked the freezer for something. Our freezer is packed, BTW. Everything in there needed time to defrost…except for the shrimp! That takes just minutes to defrost! So this was how this recipe was born.

Shrimp Omelet

Ingredients:
~20 medium shrimp, peeled and cleaned
1 TBSP margarine (or butter)
1-2 TBSP oil
1 small onion, diced
5 eggs, beaten
salt
dried parsley
garlic powder

Directions:
Peel and clean the shrimp. Set aside

In a large skillet, melt margarine over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add in diced onions and cook until they turn clear.

Add shrimp and cook for 3-5 minutes until mostly pink. Shake the pan to form an even layer of shrimp. Pour eggs over the shrimp. Add salt, parsley and garlic powder over the top of the eggs. I didn’t measure. I just shook it over the top of the eggs.

Reduce temperature to medium-low heat, cover and allow the eggs to cook through. If possible, flip the whole omelet over and cook for another2-3 minutes until eggs are no longer runny. Of course, I couldn’t flip the whole omelet. I cut it into quarters and flipped each section.

Transfer to plate and enjoy.

Yes, I understand it might look gross, but it was pretty tasty.

This will also be submitted to the NTTC#5 July 2009 Challenge.

Green Eggs and Turkey

Made by: Cathy

We went out shopping today and ended up having fast food for lunch. We haven't had Burger King food in a long time! I normally don’t eat anything from there except for their french fries (mainly because their flame broiled stuff makes my stomach upset).

When got home, we started trying out our purchases. I got a new kitchen scale, and Gary got a new bathroom scale. I've been needing the kitchen scale for quite a while now. Many of the recipes I've seen lately call for an exact measurements. I didn’t get a fancy digital one, but it's fine for me.

Since we were busy playing around with our new gadgets, we decided to have a quick breakfast for dinner night. I have a lot of leftover baby spinach from last week's grocery shopping. This was a great way for me to use up some of my leftovers. I guess you can call this somewhat of a frittata, but it does not have any dairy in it because of new diet restrictions.

Here's my spinach egg bake. Gary thought it looked gross, but it was quite tasty indeed. He also keeps saying he doesn't like spinach, so this is a way to get it into his diet. So far, he’s been eating the spinach dishes I've been making.

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1 small onion
5 eggs
2 white mushrooms (that’s all I had on hand so I threw it in)
6 slices turkey, or any meat of your choice
salt
pepper
dried basil
red pepper flakes
paprika
garlic powder

Directions:
1. Combine spinach, onions, eggs, and mushrooms into food processor and pulse a few times until blended (like the consistency of pesto). Add the turkey, and pulse 2-3 times until it’s chopped.

2. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the pan and cook on medium for 3-5 minutes or until the sides start to unstick from the pan. While it's cooking, sprinkle spices on top to taste.

3. Remove from heat and bake in a 350° oven for 10-15 minutes.

4. Cut into wedges and serve.

We ate these with knishes (also leftover from a bulk store run). We would serve these with potatoes next time.

Loco Moco

Made by: Gary

I mentioned to Gary I had a craving for Loco Moco, a local Hawaiian dish. It's packed with calories, but oh so yummy. This is a hearty breakfast dish that is served in Hawaii.

(This picture reminds me of Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants.)

You can make it however you like, with your own spices.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 lb ground turkey (or beef, I usually use turkey)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
gravy (prepared or made from scratch)

For the Gravy:
1 can beef broth
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cornstarch

1. Add the rice and water to the pot and cook.
2. Combine the ground turkey, onion, garlic, and S&P. Mix well. Shape into 2 patties. Cook in a frying pan until well done. (cook to your liking with ground beef)
3. Fry an egg sunny side up on low-medium heat.
4. In a saucepan, heat up beef broth with Worcestershire sauce, adding cornstarch to thicken.
5. Assemble in this order: 1 scoop of rice, steak patty, egg, top with gravy.

Serves: 2