hello stranger

I am hesitant to say strangers plural because I'm not convinced I have more than one reader. But I bring it upon myself by not posting with regularity!

To tell the truth things have just been incredibly busy "offline". Since the last post I have: visited my folks in LA, jumped from a rope swing into a lake, done Vegas right, beat my boyfriend at Monopoly (VICTORY!!!!!!!! FINALLY!), hosted an event for Minor Details Productions in SF, had a few friends visit me in the bay, been to the gym a lot, pulled an ab muscle, got an REI membership, spent time with a few old friends, purchased a new couch (ok I haven't purchased it yet, but I've shopped around and will be buying this week!), read an entire series of horrifically embarrassing books, started Julia Child's memoir, played frisbee golf, and watched a lot of Star Trek. Oh summer!

And onto some cookery!

The theme of the next two recipes is using what you already have.

I think I used this recipe from Williams-Sonoma.com and sort of modified it using what I had around.



I seasoned the fish with salt, pepper, crushed garlic and olive oil. I believe I used halibut here but any mild white-fish should be fine.



I also went to the Farmer's Market that day and picked up some gorgeous artichokes. I sliced them in half (purely for looks) and then steamed them for about 45 minutes. To tell when the 'choke is ready, use a pair of tongs and try to pluck off a leaf. If it is easy to remove the artichokes are ready!



I like this recipe because it is basically self contained. I added some canned tomatoes, Kalamata olives and fresh basil. I believe I used a broth/Chardonnay combo as liquid and then covered the pans with tin foil to poach the fish. It's great because you can drink the rest of the wine with the meal.



The WS recipe calls for pine nuts but I had sliced almonds and I thought that they worked fine. All in all quite delicious!

This next dish I kind of made up. I had some asparagus from the Farmer's Market and some left over ricotta cheese and lasagna noodles from a dinner party I had earlier. I decided to try my hand at some individual lasagnas.

Here is what I used (the amounts will vary depending on how much you want to make):
a few lasagna sheet noodles
1 bunch asparagus
1/2 small container of ricotta cheese
dried basil
dried oregano
1/2 jar pre-made marinara sauce
1/2 can diced tomatoes
some pre-grated parmesan



First I sliced off the tough ends of the asparagus, coated them in olive oil and salt/pepper. Then I roasted them in the oven at 450 until tender. At the same time you should boil your lasagna noodles.

Next, I took the ricotta cheese and added some oregano and dried basil to taste. I also took some canned marinara sauce and added some canned tomatoes I had leftover from the fish dish above. I often like to add whatever I have to pasta sauce to sort of "beef it up" (except without the beef...you get the idea).



To assemble, I laid out a lasagna noodle, plopped down a little sauce, added a few spears of asparagus, plopped down a spoonful of ricotta and then a little more sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan. Then I folded it all up nice and cute and added a drizzle of sauce/parmesan on top.

Once they were all assembled, I baked them in the oven at 350 until they got all nice and melty.



Ta da!

Assessment: You need a lot of asparagus to make these really great. I felt that with just a spear or two they were a little...lacking. I think I've seen this done with prosciutto. Next time I think I'll add some sauteed mushrooms or some other kind of vegetable to make it a little more filling/interesting. Maybe some sauteed or even frozen spinach could also work.

And lastly (this does not go with the theme of using what you have around) I thought I'd introduce you all to my favorite muffin recipe. These muffins are amazing. They are pretty tasty, only have 100 calories each and are full of fiber! C and I make these almost every week and both bring them to work as snacks. They are AMAZING. I always do a double-recipe because they freeze incredibly well. If you are looking for a guilt-free, portable and healthful snack you gotta check these out. I also adore that these are "guilt-free", yet do not contain any artificial ingredients. However, please note that these will NOT taste like a starbucks honey-bran muffin. These are not sweet. If you want a little sweetness, they are great heated up in the oven or micro with a drizzle of honey on top. (Adding a little honey on top doesn't add too many calories!)

The recipe is fairly self explanatory so I'll only throw in a few tips.

First of all, you may be wondering where to get the wheat bran. I've found Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran to work really well. This bran is available at all Whole Foods stores and at some Safeway/Ralphs type stores. It looks like this:


To mash the banana I usually just put it on a plate and use a potato masher. It should end up with the consistency of baby food.



mmmmmm!

I just made the muffins and they are still in the oven so there are no photos of the finished product!

Alright, time for me to make dinner, do laundry and get ready for the week.

PS: here is the couch we are going to get (most likely)! We're thinking grey instead of this greenish color.

I think it looks cute in this photo, but it looks even better in person. And it's SUPER comfortable. The tall arms make it great for lounging/reading. Woo!