simple Archives - domenica dreams of calamari

August 5, 2018

Healthy Summer Grain Bowl

It’s been sooo hot (or at least soo hot for us coastal San Diegans) so I’ve been trying to come up with sneaky ways to avoid turning on the oven at all and still having protein/veggie rich meals. I love love love smoked fish but it can sometimes be pricy. This peppered rainbow trout from Trader Joe’s is the bomb and is also only $4 for a pack that has 4 servings. Thanks Trader Joe’s! Another shoutout to my dad’s friend, Tom, for supplying us with a steady source of avocados from his tree!

{serves 2}

2 servings of peppered rainbow trout or your favorite kind of smoked/cured fish
2 eggs
2 handfuls lettuce
1 cup bulgur (uncooked)
1 large tomato
1 small/medium avocado
5 slices cucumber
1 can garbanzo beans
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 splash red wine vin
salt/pepper
olive oil

soft boil eggs
cook bulgur according to package instructions
drain garbanzos and rinse, then move to a medium sized bowl and stir in dijon, red wine vin and salt and pepper to taste
halve and slice tomato and avocado, slice cucumbers
assemble bowls: a handful lettuce each, a spoonful of bulgur and garbanzos in each, distribute avo, tomato and cucumber evenly
peel eggs and place in each bowl and lastly don’t forget the fish!
dress with olive oil and more red wine vinegar

February 9, 2016February 9, 2016

Penne with Tomato-Goat Cheese Sauce and Sauteed Spinach

This is a super simple, pretty healthy and wholly satisfying meal. Also very affordable. These were all just things I happened to pick up at Trader Joe’s the other day.

(serves 1)

4 oz goat cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
10 cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
red chili flakes
2 cups whole wheat penne pasta
2 sprigs rosemary
3 generous handfuls of spinach

heat olive oil in a medium sized pan over medium high heat add (minced) garlic and tomatoes and cover
cook pasta according to instructions
once tomatoes start to blister, pop them with a knife or fork and add goat cheese
once goat cheese starts melting, mix it with the tomato juices and add rosemary (remove from stem), bring down heat and let simmer
when pasta is finished, drain and quickly steam spinach in the pasta pot with a couple teaspoons of water
remove spinach with tongs, shaking off excess liquid, and add it into the goat cheese sauce pan and take that off the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste
pour sauce over pasta, sprinkle with chili flakes, pour yourself a glass of wine and dig in!

September 19, 2014September 24, 2014

Ricotta

I was shocked by how easy it was to make this delicious cheese at home in less that 24 hours. Ricotta is great because of its versatility; we used it for a great dinner on fresh pasta and also had it for dessert on top of cake. We got inspiration and the recipe from Bon Appétit.

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice or distilled white vinegar

Bring milk, cream, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice; stir gently until mixture starts to curdle. Let stand 5 minutes.
Pour mixture into a fine-mesh sieve lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth set over a medium bowl. Chill until cheese is spreadable, at least 20 minutes and up to 12 hours (the longer it strains, the thicker it will be).

Original recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/fresh-ricotta

After making the cheese, you’ll have quite a bit of whey leftover but don’t toss it! There are lots of interesting and useful ways to utilize it. This article explains all you ever wanted to know about curds versus whey: http://www.farmcurious.com/cheesemaking-what-to-do-with-all-that-whey/