Baked Artichokes

I am a huge fan of artichokes, and the grocery store near my house is having a sale on them (60 cents a piece!), and of course I couldn't resist. I leave on a road trip on Friday, so I'm getting a little rest, watching a little Dr Who, and eating artichokes dipped in garlic butter. Ahhhhhhh.

Bake for 1 hour at 425 degrees


Wash and trim as many artichokes as you'd like (cut all the pointy bits off, as well as the stem.

With your fingers, open the artichoke up a bit

drizzle into the artichoke:

olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Sprinkle with salt

wrap in aluminum foil and bake

dip in garlic butter, lemon, or mayonnaise

Nutmeg French Toast with Blackberry Jam and Cream Cheese

I have to say, that I feel a little bit stupid posting this recipe because, well, its so bloody easy. The thing is, its also so bloody good. Cream cheese and jam (blackberry in particular) are just too good together. Combined with the nutmeg in the french toast, it just gets crazy.

Slice up a small loaf of bread

Beat together:

2 eggs
3/4 c milk (or water)
1 pinch cinnamon
fresh ground nutmeg

Dip bread into mixture, remove, and let sit a while.

Fry on a greased pan until both sides are brown

Spread cream cheese and jam on the toast and serve hot

Dream Bean Tacos

There are a couple really tasty dishes that have become staples in my diet since getting laid off from my job a week or so ago. The relative cheapness of beans, onions, and soft taco shells, make this a winner. The avocado is something I splurge on when I can, because it really is the icing on the cake for this recipe.

Saute:
1/2 a large onion
3 cloves garlic
red pepper flakes
paprika
salt

Add and continue cooking:
1 (15 oz) can black beans
LOTS OF SALT

heat 4 soft taco shells in a frying pan with a little oil, until a little brown on both sides

mash up an avocado with ample salt (I'm a fan of salt)

divide beans and onions between tacos, add more hot sauce if you like. Top with avocado mash, cilantro and lots of lime juice.

Mango Sorbet

There is hardly anything more decadent than a bowl of mango sorbet. The grocery store was practically giving away near perfect mangos, and I couldn't resist. Bought 7 huge juicy babies for $2! Bless my soul! Anyways, this recipe is easy as pie, thought the mango puree did take forever to freeze. I ran it through the ice cream maker for about 40 minutes and it still wasn't frozen, so I ended up putting it in the freezer, stirring occasionally, until it reached the texture I wanted. So, you could probably do this with out an ice cream maker, which is nice.

Puree together:
5 or so very ripe mangos
1/3 c water
2 limes, juiced
a pinch of sea salt

run through an ice cream maker, or leave in freezer, stirring occasionally until frozen.

Spinach, Feta, Pesto and Carmelized Onions on Chickpea Patties

The original recipe that spawned these delicious babies was a lot different, but due to particular cravings/unwillingness to walk a block to the grocery store, I ended up creating a much more Mediterranean dish. I was really really pleased. According to the original recipe (from Super Natural Cooking, by Heidi Swanson), these are supposed to be served as a sandwich, with the Chickpea patties as the buns. I found that this was WAY too much for me to eat, so I ended up doing an open faced sort of dealio. Whatever works.
Oh, also, before I pureed all the chickpeas, I reserved about 1/4th cup to smoosh up by hand, so they would be chunkier


In a food processor, puree: a 15 oz can of garbanzo beans, chickpeas, whatever
2 eggs
about a Tablespoon finely chopped onions
1 T curry powder
salt to taste
red pepper flakes

stir in: 1 1/2 c rolled oats (I guess you could use breadcrumbs)

form patties in whatever size you like, and fry in some olive oil until both sides are nicely browned

meanwhile, caramelize an onion- I like to add a little salt and sugar with mine.

Top each patty with a little hummus, spinach, caramelized onions, feta, and balsamic vinegar

Strawberry, Lime, and Gin Sorbet

Now that strawberries are finally a decent price, I felt that I could hardly deny myself the pleasure of some strawberry sorbet. It turned out the craziest, most vibrant color I've ever seen. The original recipe called for a lot more sugar, but my berries were so sweet, that I didn't really need that much. Feel free, of course to ad more as your sweet tooth demands. Original recipe also called for vodka, which I'm sure would be great, but I've always loved the combination of gin and strawberries.


Puree: 2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled
1/2 c water

stir in: 1/2 c sugar
2 limes, juiced
a pinch salt
3 T Gin

run through your ice cream maker 1/2 hour or as directed

picture to come soon!