I am here, I am here!!
Hey, I am still here, haven't abandoned the blog, I swear! I am just having some fun time with the family here in Brasil!
I will come back with some new posts and recipes!
Miss you all!
Ana

A quick bite before we leave...

Yay, we are going to Brazil!
Yes, we used to visit the family at the end of the year, but now with Matheus in school (he is going to 1st grade already!!) our vacation time got transferred to June/July. The only drawback is that now it is winter there and I really don't like the cold, but visiting the family is always so much fun that their love will certainly warm us up during our entire stay!
We are so excited! Even with all the packing and the "I-think-I-am-forgetting-something" feeling we can't wait to leave for the airport tomorrow!
This time we will stay for a whole month, so I will probably won't post much, but I will certainly try to come here and say hi, and maybe even post some pictures from our trip.
And right now, before we leave, I just wanted to post this Sandwich, which is quick to make but filling and delicious, perfect for the warm weather we are having now, when turning on the oven/stove is not something we want to do.
My sister sent me this recipe, which comes from a Brazilian cooking magazine called "Claudia Cozinha", last year and I always make it when I feel like having a sandwich. It is light and refreshing, makes you feel satisfied and it is also quite healthy and good for you!
Feel free to adapt/adjust the ingredients and add/omit things based on what you have at home. This sandwich is very versatile and can even be used as a base for you to create your own version!
On the one I have in the picture I used a mix of salad leaves instead of arugula, didn't add the mushrooms and the sesame seeds, as I didn't have any of those at home. Also, I only used 2 pieces of bread, as that is definitely enough for me (and for Matheus! Yes, I made one for him and he loved it, especially since it had egg inside and he loves hard-boiled eggs!)
Hope you enjoy too, and I will come back to post as soon as we land in "Terras Brazilis" and have sort of organized ourselves there!
See you all soon!
Ana

Vegetarian Sandwich with Orange Dressing
(Adapted from Claudia Cozinha)

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste
3 slices good whole wheat bread

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup walnuts, broken into small pieces
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (toasted)
5 basil leaves
1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I didn't use, didn't have any at home...)
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup arugula leaves

In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice, olive oil and the salt until you have a homogenized mixture, set asidde.
Lay one slice of bread on a plate and on top of it put the following ingredients in layers: grated carrots, walnuts, sesame seeds, basil, and over it pour half of the orange juice dressing. Lay the other slice of bread on top and then add the mushrooms, sliced egg, cottage cheese and the arugula. Pour over the remaining orange juice dressing and top with the last slice of bread. Enjoy!

Healthy and delicious Fried Rice

We tried this recipe a while ago and it is so good that I have made it a few times ever since. I am not a fan of this type of dish when bought at restaurants and such as I usually find it very salty and heavy in the soy sauce department. But this recipe was a great surprise and I enjoyed a whole lot!
Matheus and I liked it just as it is, full of vegetable and tofu (more veggies than rice: great!), and even the husband ate his share but had his with sauteed shrimp!
Besides being very tasty, this dish is also very versatile as you can easily vary the vegetables accordingly to what you have at home, or swap the tofu for your favorite protein (chicken, shrimp), and still have a nice balanced meal!
I really liked the tofu and the edamame with all the veggies, oh and the egg bits throughout the rice were delicious too. The seasonings were simple and the flavors of the garlic, green onions and ginger were nicely balanced.
All in all a winner that will be made again when the cravings for fried rice strike - or when pressed for time, as it was also quick to make!
Enjoy!
Ana

Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame and Tofu
(Recipe from Ellie Krieger)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
2 large cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, greens included, rinsed, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
4 cups leftover cooked brown rice
3/4 cup finely diced red pepper
3/4 cup cooked, shelled edamame
1/2 cup fresh or frozen, thawed, corn
6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet until very hot. Add the garlic, scallions and ginger and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper, edamame, corn and tofu and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Make a 3-inch well in the center of the rice mixture. Add 1 teaspoon of canola oil, then add the eggs and cook until nearly fully scrambled. Stir the eggs into the rice mixture, then add soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly. Serve hot.
Yield: 4 servings

Blueberry Bran Muffins and my apologies...

I have been absent from my blog lately and I do owe an apology to the friends that visit me here. Believe me, I do miss posting and even more so the comments you all leave (they reeeally cheer me up!), but sometimes I get these days when I don't feel all that inspired to write, or make many different things.
Well, I am glad to say that the latest phase is over and I intend to be back for real now! :o)
Summer is finally here and I am truly happy with the warm days, it is soooo nice outside!
With such sunny days we have been grilling a lot (yum!) and already using the ice cream machine, so I better get my camera ready and take some time to come here to share the recipes with you all.
And what a better way to start my June posts than with a new muffin recipe?? You all know by now that we love muffins here at our house. I make them weekly and freeze for breakfasts and snacks, so I am always looking for different healthy muffin recipes to try.
Well, the summer fruits are here and one of my favorite started to show up at the farmers market this past week: blueberries!!
Yay, I love blueberries, the plump purple spheres are so sweet that you don't need anything else to go with it. I am a happy camper to sit down with a bowl of fresh blueberries, to me it is the perfect snack. Heck, I will even have a bowl of blueberries for dinner if you let me!
So, with some of those beauties around I decided to look for a muffin recipe and as I typed "blueberry bran muffins" on the google website I was sent to a recipe at the allrecipes website. It was the first one I took a look and it won me over immediately. I knew it could only be good, and I wasn't wrong... it was great!!
I loved the muffins, it is certainly one of the best bran muffins I have made. Easy, simple, and better yet, low fat, healthy and good for you. I used blueberries but can see these being made with apples and cinnamon, raisins, or even chocolate chips. I really enjoy bran muffins and these were delicious!
If you like bran muffins to then make sure you try this recipe, believe me, it is that good!
Enjoy!
Ana









Low-Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins
(adapted from www.allrecipes.com. Original recipe can be seen here)

1 1/2 cups wheat bran

1 cup nonfat milk (I used soy milk)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 egg

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or line muffin tins with paper cups.
Mix together wheat bran, milk, and applesauce and let rest for about 10 minutes. To this mixture add egg, vanilla, and sugar and mix well.
In another bowl mix together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in blueberries.
Portion batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for about 18 to 20 minutes.

Just an idea...!

I had some black beans leftover from making quesadillas and wanted to do something with them - beans are so yummy and healthy, we have to enjoy them thoroughly, right?!
So, I decided to try making a dip using the same method I use for hummus, but using the black beans in place of chickpeas (garbanzos).
We called it Black Beans Hummus here at our house, but I am not sure if it would be appropriate to call it hummus as it does not have any chickpeas in them (which in my head you need in hummus!).
But, nomenclature aside, this dip turned out reeeeeally delicious! We enjoyed it quite a lot and I was actually very surprised with the delicious flavor it had! My husband also liked it a lot, but then he already likes plain black beans a lot more than I do.
To make this I simply pureed about a cup of black beans in the blender with one clove of garlic, about tablespoon of tahini (add more depending on your liking!), salt, pepper, a little bit of cumin and a little bit of water just to get it to the right consistency.
Easy, simple and delicious! It was a great snack we enjoyed with baked pita chips, yummy!
Ana

Priceles...!

Bcoming a MOM is by far the best thing that happened to me!

Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends!!

Ana

Tandoori Chicken

I have always been amazed by the Indian cuisine. The aromatic flavors and complexity of the dishes sometimes makes me want to go to India just to learn how to make their food.
And since I like the combination of spices they use (with the exception of fennel seeds), I am always experimenting and looking for recipes and ideas to try at home. Especially since taking Matheus to the restaurant isn't yet possible as he cannot tolerate the heat all that well (and sometimes neither can I to be quite true).
So making Indian food at home has been a very pleasant adventure for all of us. I really enjoy the cooking process, toasting the spices, creating different (to me!) flavors, marinating the meat for long hours, and since Matheus and my Husband are good taste testers, at the end we get to share delicious food which we all can enjoy together!
Since we discovered a delicious local Indian restaurant I have been expanding my knowledge of Idian dishes and understanding a little bit more of what regions. Through researching and asking my blog friend Agda (chek out her blog, it is full of delicious Indian dishes!!), Indian food has become even more appealing to me.
One of the dishes I enjoy at the Indian restaurant is their Tandoori Chicken, so as soon as I saw the recipe for Grilled Tandoori Chicken on the current issue of Cooking Light Magazine I knew I had to try it.
I knew from the beginning that my chicken would not resemble or taste much like the one I get at the restaurant, as it is certainly impossible to create at home the flavor that the "tandoor" oven imparts to the dish, but grilling it sounded like a way to impart something more to the already so fragrant combination of spices.
The chicken came out really good! And I mean it, really, really good! I marinated the chicken overnight so the spices were through out the meat and the grill definitely added something to it all. The marinade by itself was already delicious with the yogurt, spices, the ginger and lemon juice... it was truly good, and we all agreed it was one of the most flavorful chickens we made in our grill.
Even though the recipe asks for only chicken thighs I used a combination of chicken breasts and thighs, but I have to say that the thighs were a lot more moist and flavorful than the breast pieces, the charred parts were just amazingly yummy (and this coming from someone that doesn't like dark meat really says a lot).
I halved the recipe and did not add the red pepper or the Serrano pepper to it, as I didn't want to make it too spicy for us, but I actually missed a little bit of heat (you know, Indian food is supposed to be a little spicy). So, the second time I made I added a tiny bit of red pepper and... it was even better! Feel free to adjust the spices and peppers to suit your tastes.
I served the Tandoori Chicken with basmatti saffron rice and curried vegetables and it was a very delicious Indian meal!
Enjoy!
Ana

My note: we didn't care for the yogurt sauce all that much, so I didn't even bother to make it the second time I made the chicken.
If anyone has a good yogurt "sauce" recipe/idea to go with this kind of chicken dish, would you like to share with me?? I know there might be something around, as I have had better yogurt sauces than this one... the search for Indian flavors continues!

Grilled Tandoori Chicken
(Adapted from Cooking Light, May 2008)

2 teaspoons canola oil
4 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped onion (I
1/2 cup coarsely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped seeded serrano pepper
8 garlic cloves, crushed
2 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
2 teaspoons salt, divided
16 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
Cooking spray

Heat oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and red pepper to pan; cook 2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring constantly. Remove from pan; cool.

Place onion, ginger, serrano pepper, garlic, spice mixture, 1/2 cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons juice, and 1 3/4 teaspoons salt in a food processor (I used a blender) and process until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Cut 3 shallow slits in each chicken thigh. Add chicken to bag, and seal. Toss to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Combine remaining 2 cups yogurt, 2 tablespoons juice, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl, stirring well. Cover mixture, and chill.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 7 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with yogurt mixture.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs and about 1/4 cup yogurt mixture)

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

It was yesterday, but we were busy eating this yummy chocolate cake, so I came to post it here today!!
The recipe for the cake I already posted before but will post again, just because it is a super delicious chocolate cake! (to see the other post, click here)
And, besides the goodness, it makes a small square cake, which is the perfect size for the three of us. Yesterday I used a 9-inch round pan and it came out perfect; simple, but so rich and delicious... it was the best birthday cake ever paired with the strawberries and some vanilla ice cream.
You really have to make this one!
Ana

Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, softened (if using salted butter then omit the salt from the recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat an 8-inch square baking pan (or a 9-inch round!!!) with cooking spray; dust with the 2 teaspoons flour.
In a bowl mix together flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, stirring, reserve.
With a mixer beat butter until smooth, add vanilla and granulated sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat for 3 minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
While beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until everything is smooth and incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 28 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Yield: 9 servings

Adapted from Cooking Light, March 2003

This cake is already delicious plain, but if it is also your birthday and you love chocolate as much as I do, then go ahead and make your slice even more special!! And don't forget the vanilla ice cream - which I forgot to put on before taking the picture...

Carrot Couscous!

I was going to make couscous last week to serve with fish but wanted to change it a bit... you know, when you are going to make the basic because its easy and quick but you do want to add something extra just to make it feel a little more special?
Well, on a situation like that you open the fridge and start looking around, and then... you find some carrot juice just sitting there and smiling (ok, not smiling per se...), waiting to be put to a good use.
And to a great purpose it served, I made couscous with it!
For 1 cup of couscous I used 1 cup carrot juice and 1/4 cup water. Bring the juice and water to a boil together with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat, add couscous, stir a bit, cover and let it sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and it is ready to serve!
I mixed some green onions into our couscous and I really liked the flavors, and color, it added to it.
So here it is, an easy and simple idea, just to add that little something to the beloved easy-and-quick-to-make couscous.
Oh, and don't worry if you are not the biggest carrot fan, the couscous doesn't taste "carroty" at all. The flavor is so subtle that my husband couldn't even guess what was on it. In fact, next time I make this (which I will for sure) I will use all carrot juice, as I believe more of its flavor would've been very nice.
Enjoy!
Ana

Mickey Mouse Fun!!

Since we took Matheus to Disney World for the first time last year he got an addoration for all things Mickey!
But hey, there is no way one would not like these Mickey raviolis... aren't they cute?! And I have to say, they are yummy! But no, I didn't make them, we found them at the grocery store.
However, we have been making Mickey Pancakes at home!
Easy and fun, just pour your pancake batter as usual in the pan/griddle and then add a little bit of batter to each side of the pancake to make the ears. Flip as you would normally do with your regular pancakes and eat them with an even bigger smile on your face!
Oh, and if you would like a healthy and wholesome pancake recipe, take a look here for one I have posted before: Whole Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce.

I tell you, having kids and being a mommy is a lot of fun! Even breakfast makes you smile!!
Ana

It was a Happy Happy Birthday!

A party with some free throws, great passes, one we definitely scored!
Matheus turned 6 on March 25... six... I still cannot believe, he is growing so fast.
However, I am enjoying each and every day of these first years of his life, while he still near me, smiling, playing around, always with a hug and some kisses to make his mommy happy!
We had a birthday party for him and his friends from school at a bounce-house-type-party-place and after one and a half hours playing, jumping, and running around, the kids were more than ready for some juice and cake - which this year turned out to be a Basketball Court (or half of it...).
Matheus enjoyed his party, his cake, and more than everything having fun with his friends, and that was more than enough and made me as happy as one could be!
And since I have been sharing my latest creations in the cake world with you I decided to post this one too. Inside it was a Chocolate Cake filled with whipped cream. I wanted to take a picture of a slice but I have to tell you, there were NO slices left.... the kids loved the cake and it was gone. My husband saved a piece, which I quickly took a bite and was happy to see why, it did came out very yummy!
For the cake recipe in English, the Cocoa Cake is posted here, and it is the same one I made for last years soccer birthday cake too.
If you would like to see a recipe in Portuguese, take a look at Eliana's blog, she has a yummy chocolate cake recipe posted here, which is where I got the idea to use whipped cream for the filling of mine. Super simple and the end result is perfect, so delicious and the kids really enjoyed! (and for birthday parties you can't ask for more than that!)
Hope you like it too!
Ana

Spring Break Lunch!
Matheus is on Spring Break this week and we are enjoying a full week of doing nothing - he is liking it quite a lot actually!
So our lunches have been simple and easy this week, even more so since it's been raining a lot and basically all we have been able to do is stay home and eat...
Today however, it was sunny outside, so we went out and came back with nice pieces of halibut for lunch.
The fish was simply seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil and roasted in the oven until done.
With the oven on, I also roasted some asparagus (because Spring is asparagus time and this is Matheus' favorite vegetable - and we have been having it everyday this week!), a few baby carrots cut into coins (to roast more quickly), and a juicy tomato for each of us, filled with some leftover brown rice Parmesan risotto and sprinkled with some more Parmesan on top, yum!
Me and Matheus both love bok choy and for some reason I always think about greens when I buy fish. Well, it ended up there were no bok choy for us at whole foods today, so we came back with a pretty bunch of chard instead. It was actually my first time cooking red swiss chard, and it reminded me a lot of beet greens in terms of flavor.
The halibut and stuffed tomato were definitely the stars of the meal. The tomato was juicy and the Parmesan on top together with the rice formed the most delicious crusty topping we could have asked for. Matheus already asked for a repeat on this one! :0)
And the halibut was so moist and tender, flaky and delicious... yummm! When you have good fish fillets you really don't need to fuss much over it.
Simple, easy, and best of all, I only had one pan dirty, and that was because I decided to sautee the chard. Otherwise I would only have our plates and cutlery to wash, since all I had used was the baking sheet, which was purposely lined with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
Can't get much better (and flavorful) than that!
Ana

Happy Easter!!

Simple, but so good!
This was our Easter Dessert today. This recipe is a favorite and you can see it here!
Happy Bunny Day everyone!
Ana

Just wanted to share...

I really enjoy baking and decorating cakes, especially with fondant, so lately I have been venturing more and more in the cake department (never took a class though, so please don't look too deep into it!).
Here are a couple of cakes I recently made to friends of mine, I just wanted to share the pictures as I was quite proud of myself and both the friends who got the cakes really liked them too!
Ana

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hey everyone, I am back! Yay!!
While it took me a bit to recover from the tonsillectomy (oh my, does that hurt... ouch!), right after I got better I managed to cut my right-hand index finger and now got a couple stitches to take care of. Thankfully it is nothing big or serious, so I am still around the kitchen, of course!
St. Patrick's is not something we celebrate, no Irish backgrounds in our families and we actually only got to learn about this here in the US.
However, Matheus learns about everything at school and come home with his little head full of ideas. One of those being that today he wanted a lunch box full of green food, and who am I to argue with that, right?!!
So, we went for green grapes, broccoli, and these yummy Spinach Muffins, which actually comes from my friend Akemi's kitchen!!
Her recipe is in reality for a Spinach Pie, but I thought that muffins would be more "lunch-box-friendly" and gave it a try, and it worked perfect!
I actually made the full recipe, scooped part of it into 4 muffin cups, and the rest I put on a pyrex dish and baked as a pie. Both came out great. We had the pie yesterday for dinner and the muffins were taken today to school.
And since it was my day to volunteer at the classroom I ended up going to have lunch with Matheus at the school too and have to say that the muffins were a success! The kids loved his "green bread" and he was so happy with his green food that he devoured all the veggies, muffins and fruit! Tell me about a "eco-friendly-green-boy"!!!
This is soooo easy to make, and I love the addition of onions and garlic to the batter, it gave it so much flavor, really cool!
I mixed my filling (chopped ham and grated mozzarela) into the batter so it would be easier to pour into the muffin tins and it all came out perfect, we all liked and I hope you will also enjoy, pretty healthy and cool colors too!
Thanks Akemi!!
Ana

To see the recipe in Portugues click here: Torta de Espinafre!

Akemi's Spinach Pie
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon salt (add more to taste)
Leaves from 1 bunch of spinach (I used about 2/3 of a bag of spinach - added until it was green as I wanted it to be!)
1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons chopped onions (about 1/4 onion)
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a blender process the eggs, milk, oil, salt, spinach, garlic, and onions until all mixed up and no pieces remain. Pour batter into a large bowl and add to that the flour and baking powder. Mix until incorporated.

At this point you can add your filling right to the batter or pour half the batter into a baking dish, fill it with desired filling, and then pour rest of batter on top, smoothing it up with the back of a spoon.
To make it easier I mixed up chopped ham, grated mozzarela, and a couple tablespoons grated parmesan right into the batter.
You can also use diced tomatoes if you want here, I just didn't use it because I didn't have it on hand... Another good option would be a chicken filling, yummm!

Bake your pie for 35 to 40 minutes at 350F. In case you are making muffins check on them after 18-20 minutes, they should be done by then!

And here is Matheus' lunchbox for the day! Yummy!

Taking it easy...

As you may have noticed, my kitchen has slowed down a bit this week. The reason is that I had surgery this past Wednesday and had my tonsils removed (tonsillectomy). So, for the past couple days I have been having a diet consisting mostly of creamy and mushy foods.
And even though it may not sound very delectable I am actually enjoying to have lots of pureed soups, pudding and ice cream, yes, because ice cream is definitely the best thing to swallow, cold stuff rules when you are in pain.
Boy, this thing hurts a lot, way more that I thought it would, so I have been taking it easy and resting as much as I can so I can get over with this soon and be back with full energy to the kitchen!
So, just a note to let you know why I might be a little absent these days, and I promise I will be back to talk about the yummy and colorful dessert pictured above that we made a while ago. Right now I will leave here the picture and see if any of my blog friends will be able to tell me what it is!!
Ana

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Here is a nice, simple and easy meal, perfect for when you want comfort food without much trouble at all: chop a few vegetables, season them, put on a casserole, add chicken breasts on top, season with a delicious infusion of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice and bake the whole thing until all the flavors meld and your kitchen smell divine!!
Easy, right?! Yep, and this is how this dish turned out to be! Nothing fancy, or fussy, but as flavorful as could be.
My only change to this was that I used Leeks instead of the fennel asked for in the recipe, as I just cannot stand fennel in any form (bulb, seeds, anise... yuck, no, fennel is not for me!).
Boy could I be happier to have changed that. The mixture of leeks and soft tomatoes together with the seasonings in the broth was incredibly good! The zucchini was soft and tender and chicken was perfectly cooked.
I really enjoyed this dish since, as I mentioned before, it was comforting and done with minimum effort!
The lemon-garlic-oil mix added to the top of the chicken subtly infused the brothy yumminess that was created in the bottom of the dish, which perfumed the entire kitchen and enticed our taste buds even before the dish was done... humm, good!
Serve this with rice as it helps to soak all the flavorful juices from the seasoned vegetables, making for an incredibly easy and tasty meal that I am sure you and your family will enjoy!
Ana

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
(Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger's book The Food You Crave)

6 tomatoes
3 medium zucchini (½ pound each)
1 bulb fennel (I used 1 12 leeks)
3 tablespoons olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly grated black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried

Preheat oven 350F.
Cut the tomatoes lengthwise into quarters and remove the seeds. Trim the zucchini and cut it in half crosswise and then cut each piece in half lengthwise once if the piece is thin and twice if it is thicker, so that the pieces are relatively uniform.
Remove the outermost layer of the fennel bulb and discard. Cut the bulb in half so that each half retains part of the stem end. Cut each half into 8 thin wedges so each wedge is held together by a little piece of stem. (I skipped the fennel and added two leeks which I trimmed, washed and thinly sliced into half moons)
Put the vegetables into a large baking pan. Toss them with 2 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan with the vegetables.
In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice. Rub the mixture into the chicken in the pan. Season with a few turns of pepper.
Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then give the vegetables a stir and add the rosemary. Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes more until the chicken is done and the vegetable are tender and beginning to brown.
Yield: 4 servings

Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears

Sometimes, during the winter months it is a little harder to find desserts that I like and would satisfy all my "winter sweet-needs". First because all my favorite fruits are all out of season, and second because my favorite type of desserts are the creamy ones (like ice cream, panna cotta), but during the winter I feel really cold, so it is not always I am up for very chilly foods. It is usually something warm and comforting I am looking for.
Well, here is an example of how yummy, warm, and comforting winter fruit can get!
Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears is another of Ellie's recipe and one that I really enjoyed! Nice and ripe pears are first poached in sweet red wine, as they become soft and infused with flavor you take them out of their wine bath and reduce the liquid to a sticky and flavorful syrup, which is then used to embellish your plate and taste buds!
The wine reduction almost look like chocolate syrup, doesn't it?! But its flavors are far more interesting and complex, offering just the perfect sweetness and pairing nicely with the soft cooked pears.
This is the type of dessert I would serve for company: it can be made in advance, looks pretty, is simple to make and the taste... if you like pears and wine flavored desserts, then this one is for you and your guests too!
So, here goes the recipe, and you know what, the syrup is delicious, but I bet this would be really good with some chocolate sauce too, and if served warm... humm, a scoop of ice cream would also probably be welcome, even with the winter cold!
Enjoy!
Ana

Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears
(Recipe by Ellie Krieger, from the book The Food You Crave)

2 cups red wine, Cabernet or Merlot
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Juice of 1 orange (about ½ cup)
One 1 inch strip orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
4 firm, ripe pears

Peel the pears but leave the stem intact. Slice ½ inch of the bottom of the pear, just so it will have a flat bottom and are able to stand up when you plate them.
In a saucepan combine sugar, wine, orange juice, orange zest, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Lay the pears in the poaching liquid, cover, and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning them every 5 minutes to ensure that they have an even color.
Transfer the pears to a plate, keeping them upright.
Remove orange zest, cinnamon and cloves from the poaching liquid. Turn heat up to medium-high and reduce the liquid until it is thick and syrupy, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Plate each pear and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the warm syrup.
Note: pears and sauce can be stored in refrigerator for up to 2 days and served cold or at room temperature.
Serves 4.

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Ana

(This was Matheus' Valentine lunch for today - properly put in a lunchbox after the picture, of course! Heart-shapped Pizza and little hearts cut out from a red bell pepper!)

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Shrimp is something that both Matheus and my husband really like. I talk about having shrimp for a meal and they are as happy as can be!
And it was certainly not different with this dish. As I mentioned the above sea protein they could not wait for lunch, and were not even worried about what kind of dish I was going to make.
Luckily, Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta was a hit and lunch was an absolute success!
First you make a simple and easy tomato sauce with canned tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs: parsley and dill. Then shrimp and feta cheese are added and the dish goes to the oven for a few minutes more. And that's it!
So easy and soooo flavorful! I enjoyed this so much that I could not believe how good it was!
I like shrimp, but I am not a big fan of canned tomatoes. I love tomatoes, the fresh ones, during summertime, when they are at their peak of goodness. Maybe it is just me, but I find canned tomatoes to be extremely acidic and... well, I think they taste like, hum... the can.
Sorry, I know, canned tomatoes are a staple and a life saver during winter months, I agree, but it might be just me, so just ignore my canned tomato rant and let's move forward, shall we?!
Anyways, my surprise with this dish was exactly the tasty sauce. The dill and parsley paired so well with the shrimp and tomatoes flavors that I could not stop raving about it, really, really good!
The cheese added just the right amount of saltiness, nicely complementing the flavors of everything else. The canned tomatoes turned out into a sauce that was not bad at all!
We all gave thumbs up for this dish here at our home, pretty easy, delicious and good for you, just like all the other recipes that came from Ellie's book! Yumm!!
Ana

Ps: I am sorry about the picture, I should have taken a better one... actually, I was supposed to plate and take another picture, but we were all so excited to eat that I ended up forgetting to do it, just to find the camera sitting on the counter ready to click... oh man!

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
(Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger's cookbook The Food You Crave)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cups diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14,5oz) cans diced tomatoes, with their juices (I added 1 ½ can and it was enough sauce for us, too much more and it would have been tomato soup with shrimp swimming in it, so use your judgment on this one!)
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 ¼ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
2/3 cups crumbled feta cheese (3 ounces) (I didn't measure mine, but I guess I used less than this amount)

Preheat oven to 425F.
Sautee onion and garlic in the olive until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes, until tomato juices thicken a little.
Remove from heat, add parsley, dill, and shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the feta cheese and bake until shrimp is cooked and cheese melts, about 12 minutes.
Serves 4.