Plum and Pecan Pancakes

Again, I have succumbed to the pluot.

Otherwise, these are just your ordinary buttermilk pancakes from Rachael Ray’s magazine.

They were very fluffy.  Try them for yourself.  Here’s the recipe.

I’ve been on the hunt for plums because I wanted to make Greengage Plum Ice Cream from Clementine Paddleford’s The Great American Cookbook.  Here’s the thing:  I didn’t find any.  I hate to substitute, but the recipe did say you could use other plums.  So I went a little crazy and used pluots instead.  What can I say?  I’m living on the edge.

This was a basic ice cream recipe from the Virginia section of her book.  Just add plums, or pluots if you feel so inclined.

Licking the screen is not really a good idea.

Eat well and savor.

Meatball Hero

Where I come from this is a sub, or maybe even a hoagie.  I see meatball hero and I break out into song with jukebox hero, da na na na na na, juke box hero.

Anyway, you’ll never guess what’s inside there.

Well, maybe you could guess that it’s half ground sirloin and half ground turkey, but you might not notice the pureed chickpeas.

As if that’s not enough of a reason to try these, the sauce is homemade too.  Putting a grated carrot into your marinara isn’t so far-fetched, but this is the first time I’ve ever added a grated apple.

This recipe was in the summer 2008 edition of Hallmark Magazine.    I know.  Who knew Hallmark had a magazine?  Had being the operative word there.  I don’t think it’s around anymore.

Eat Well and Savor.

Fruity Quesadilla

So glad this wasn’t called Mango Quesadilla.  That’s one of the three ingredients Hungry Girl calls for in the book 300 Under 300.  BUT I used a pluot instead.   What’s a pluot, you say.  As I told the couple in the grocery store when they asked me the same thing, it’s a combo of  plum and apricot.  I really hope I didn’t lie.

Okay.  So we’ve got tha mango — ahem — I mean the pluot, the tortilla, and another HG fave, Laughing Cow cheese wedge.  It’s the perfect way to use up a leftover tortilla.  Tomorrow morning the last tortilla is going to be hanging out with another cheese wedge and some egg substitute.  I think Lisa Lillien would approve.

Eat Well and Savor.

Sweet Potato Salad

Another salad from my weekend adventures at the lake.

I know you’re jealous that I have an awesome friend who lives at the lake.   Next time I’ll take some pictures for you.

This salad didn’t really wow me.  In theory, it’s great.  I seldom see sweet potato salad and this one had pineapple and pecans.  How could I resist?  Especially since the article was entitled Oprah’s Easy Summertime Eats.  That’s right.  The big O.  I have to admit, though, I’m not an Oprah follower.  In fact, although this recipe is apparently from The Oprah Magazine Cookbook, I pulled it out of Quick and Simple magazine circa July 2008.  I swear my aunt must have given it to me.

Eat Well and Savor

 

 

Broccoli Salad

No fancy serving dishes for this salad.

I took this up to the Marnie’s house on the lake!   And it was so good I made it again today for lunch.  It’s hard to tell but there are grapes and raisins and sunflower seeds in there.  There’s also some bacon, but you can totally leave it out.

The dressing is a classic combo of may0, sugar, and white vinegar.  Mix it all together and chill.  Done.

This was in Family Circle’s August 2009 edition and try as I might I couldn’t find a link, so here you go.

1 cup mayo

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon white vinegar

7 cups broccoli

1 pound bacon

1 cup seedless red grapes

1 cup raisins

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 small red onion

A word about broccoli and men:  I can count on Jake eating green beans, corn, or carrots.  Maybe zucchini or spinach if it’s hidden in a casserole with copious amounts of cheese and/or meat.  I never dreamed that he would eat broccoli salad.  I mean, seriously, it’s the main ingredient and the first word in the title; there’s no hiding that.  Of course I was surprised when he asked what was in the salad.  I asked him what ingredient would make him not eat it.  His reply:  carrots.  I was astonished.  Carrots are in the big three.  What was I missing?  I happened to have a carrot in my hand, so obviously that influenced his response.

I want to say that the moral of the story is that if you want a man to eat vegetables cover them in bacon, but I don’t want anyone to think that I really believe that applies to all men.  Here’s hoping you get my point.

Eat Well and Savor.

 

 

Fresh Tomato and Zucchini Tart

With Mozzarella and Basil.  I made this the other day and have been eating it for lunch all week.  All this time I thought I was eating pizza, but I guess it was a tart.

I hate when I write a whole post and for some reason it doens’t show up!  I don’t always have it in me to repeat myself.  Sorry, but this is one of those times.

I will repeat this much:  this recipe left me wondering what else I could put into this crust.  The first thing that came to mind was pear, brie, and walnut.

Here’s the recipe from Cooking Light’s March 2005 edition.  Seriously, where do you get fresh tomatoes in March?

Eat Well and Savor.

 

Peaches Stuffed with Amaretti Cookies

I feel more Italian just because I typed amaretti.

Today someone asked me my ethnicity and I said American.  I knew what she meant.  She is some sort of Hispanic.  I say it that way because we were interrupted and I didn’t get to find out if she was Cuban or whatever.  Over the years I’ve been mistaken for Greek, Italian, Puerto Rican, Spanish, and probably Cuban, even though I can’t remember a specific instance.  When I lived in Florida one of my many nicknames was Juanita.  But you have to say it like Wa-NEEEE-Ta.  Ah, those were the days.  Anyway, the answer is my grandparents parents came from France and Canada.  When I was in France last year everywhere I went I saw myself as a child.  Curly dark-haired little girls with brown eyes.  I know.  All of this rambling just because I put an amaretti cookie into a peach a la Giada and Everyday Italian.

A little butter, sugar, and ground up cookie inside your peach + bake it and top it with whipped cream = a simple dessert.

At first I thought it was odd that GDL didn’t say to put sugar in the whipped cream.  But once you take a bite with some of the topping you really don’t need it at all.

Eat Well and Savor.

 

 

Oven-Fried Shrimp

With Avocado Green Goddess Dipping Sauce.

And I should add with Light-And-Crisp Whole-Wheat Bread Crumbs.  That’s right; I made my own.  Making bread crumbs really requires very little effort and they are way more luxurious than the kind in the can.  In this case said crumbs are mixed with thyme and lemon zest, an inspired combo, in my opinion.

I would have loved to add some coconut.  I’m not so sure that would go with the green goddess, though.

I know you want to lick the screen.

These recipes come from Ellie Krieger and Comfort Food Fix, which means it comes in nicely at 270 calories.  Frying them in the oven is an excellent alternative to deep-frying.

Eat Well and Savor.

 

Classic Apple Pie

I hope I don’t come off as unpatriotic, but I just don’t love apple pie.

Maybe I’m missing something in my DNA.

Do not be deceived, I ate it.  The crust was perfect, but still too much crust for me.

It’s just that given any other choice in pie, I would probably pick something else.  This recipe came from Baked New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Polafito.  I’m not blaming them at all.  I totally own my apple pie issues and the fact that I made a pie that I don’t love and then ate it.  Frankly, I think I might need therapy just for typing that sentence.

By the way, the authors recommended using a little leaf cookie cutter to make adornments for the crust.  I only had a heart cutter on hand, but I think it works.

Eat Well and Savor.

Grilled Chicken & Peaches with Green Beans & Orzo

And feta.  Seriously, if you’re going to list all the ingredients in the title then you should go all the way.

For once I actually managed to make something from a current edition of  a magazine.   I saw this in Better Home and Gardens and knew it couldn’t wait.  It was a perfect Friday night dinner on the deck with some Moscato.

It was so easy that I’m even going to type the recipe.

8 oz orzo

8 oz green beans

1 lb chicken tenders

2 peaches, cut into wedges

2 TB olive oil

4 oz feta

fresh thyme

Prepare orzo according to the package and add the green beans for the last five minutes.  Brush the peaches and chicken with oil and grill.  Mix everything together.

The recipe suggested using herb-flavored feta.  I only had unflavored on hand, so I added some garlic salt, onion powder, italian seasoning, along with good old salt and pepper.  The moral:  add your favorite seasoning and I don’t think you can go wrong.

A note about green beans:  I got a nice prepackaged bunch of haricot verts.  They were lined up nicely in the bag, which means that instead of snapping each one, I just lined them up on the cutting board and sliced off the end of about 25 at a time.  Easy-peasy.

Eat Well and Savor.