menu and recipes

Mediterranean Hummus Pizza

(gonna try this one tonight, so I'll let you know if it is good)

1 Pizza crust
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pressed garlic clove

toppings:
2 plum tomatoes
1/4 medium red onion
1 2 inch piece of cucumber
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 (7 oz) container hummus spread
2 (6oz) jars quartered marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1/3 cup mediterranean seasoned feta cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 425 and roll your dough out onto a baking sheet/stone. combine garlic and oil and brush evenly over dough. bake for 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown

slice tomatoes in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds and then dice. thinly slice onion. slice cucumber into slices and then quarters. coarsely chop olives with food chopper.

remove pizza crust from oven and spread hummus evenly over the crust. arrange tomatoes, onion, cucumber, olives and artichokes over hummus. sprinkle with cheese. cut into squares.


BABY SPINACH SALAD WITH TUNA

2 Tbsp plain low fat yogurt
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
coarse salt and ground pepper
baby spinach
1/2 cups seedless red grapes halved lengthwise
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 can tuna
flat bread (optional) I am going to use spinach wraps and make it into a wrap

In a small bowl whisk together yogurt, dijon, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. place dressing in a resealable plastic bag or airtight container. place spinach grapes, and onion in another container. just before serving, drain tuna and add to sald and toss with dressing.

FLOUNDER WITH TOMATO-ONION RAGOUT

( I used Tilapia bc I couldn't find flounder)
olive oil
red onion thinly sliced
cherry or grape tomatoes halved
white-wine vinegar
coarse salt
pepper
fish fillets
parsley

in a non stick skillet heat oil over medium add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. add tomatoes and cook stirring occasionally until slightly collapsed.
remove skillet from heat. add vinegar; stir to combine. season with salt and pepper ( I didn't have white wine vinegar so I used white wine and rice vinegar and just put a splash of each in there. it was good)
remove to a bowl and cover and keep warm
wipe clean with paper towels your skillet. put a little more oil in an dheat over medium high. season fish with salt and pepper, place in skillet. cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. with a wide metal spatula; carefully turn fish over. cook until opaque throughout; about 1 minute. transfer fish to a dinner plate. spoon tomato-onion ragout over fish; serve with couscous or rice. (I used seasoned wild rice. it was very tasty) Darin said he wanted it put into heavy rotation on the menu. he even ate the tomatoes!!! Sprinkle parsley on top.

CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP

3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped shallots
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp flour
3 pounds asparagus trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
coarse salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

In a large (4qt) saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme; cook unitl shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. add flour, cook until incorporated stirring constantly, about 1 min.

add asparagus and 6 cups water; season generously with salt. cover and bring to a boil. reduce heat; cover and simmer, until asparagus is a bright green and just tender, 2-4 minutes

working in small batches, puree soup in a blender until very smooth. to prevent splattering, fill blender only half way, allow heat to escape. remove cap from hole in lid and cover lid with a dishtowel. if serving right away, stir in cream and lemon juice. to freeze, leave out the cream and lemon juice. cool to room temp before dividing among airtight containers leaving 1 inch of space at the top. freeze for up to 2 months. defrost overnight in refrigerator; reheat over low heat. sit in cream and lemon juice just before serving.