Crab Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

These fun and easy appetizers were inspired by my belief that if you present a
child with attractively plated food in a fun way you can get the child to eat just about anything -
I had no tuna, no eggs and wanted to make a quick lunch for my daughter - she eats tuna salad and egg salad - but crab salad? (Crab meat I had - coupled it with some mayo, chopped capers, diced celery and a little salt, pepper and old bay seasoning, instant crab salad)

All I did was cut the tops off some cherry tomatoes, scoop out the insides (which, as an added healthy bonus, she actually ate all the pulp calling it 'fresh tomato soup') and stuffed the tomato shells with the crab salad - she ate them all!! These look so pretty and you can do them ahead - and of course, you could stuff them with egg salad or tuna salad or whatever...

Easy Banana Bread

So easy - old bananas, ripe and ready and what to do? Make bread, not war... simple recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup softened butter
2 eggs
3-4 mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour (more if needed)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and combine well add mashed bananas and milk
and vanilla - sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and add - stir just to
combine - fold in nuts if using. Bake in a loaf pan (grease bottom only) at 350 for 1 hour or until
a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - cool for 5 mins in pan, use a knife to loosen
edges and turn out onto a rack - cool completely

Valentines Day

Wow - its been so long sinced I have added to this blog (still keeping up with my cooking videos on www.youtbe.com/ilovetocookalot )...but I am back now and will try to post regularly...today is Valentines day - not so exciting from the romance perspective for many of us who have been married awhile, but very very exciting for my little girl - so for breakfast? Why heart-shaped pancakes of course, as I am sure countless other mother's made this morning

Christmas Cookies

Its that time of year again, and there is so much to do - decorating, shopping and cooking and baking - one of my all time favorite holiday cookie recipes is a very simple one, i call Spumoni Cookies - these gorgeous cookies are wonderful because you can make them ahead and store them in the refrigerator and slice and bake them as needed throughout the holiday season. There very pretty on a cookie tray and make fabulous gifts.

In the picture above I show a platter with some candy cane sugar cookies, some acorn cookies (sugar cookies shaped like acorns and then dipped into melted chocolate and coated with chopped walnuts) and in the center my spumoni cookies.

Spumoni Cookies

• 1 cup softened unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachio, almonds)
• 2 Tbs chopped candied red cherries
• 1 oz pure chocolate (unsweetened) melted

Cream together butter, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla. Add flour. Divide dough into 3 parts
into one part add cherries, into another part add chocolate and more flour if needed, into the
last part add nuts and green food coloring if desired.
Line a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with either parchment paper or aluminum foil down the bottom and up the ends of the pan. Layer the dough in evenly, first the cherry dough, then the chocolate and then the nut dough. Fold the parchment or foil over the dough and cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 6 weeks. When ready to make carefully remove the
layered dough from the pan, and remove foil or paper. Slice into 1/4 inch thick slices then slice in halves or quarters and bake on an ungreased cookie tray at 35 F for 10 mins or until the bottoms are browned. Cool on a wire rack.

My Girl

Fall is coming, so slowly it approaches
I teach my girl, each leaf she says worth catching
Gold, yellow, red and brown
All slowly scattered to the ground
And then –
Before you know it boughs are bare, no leaves are left, there’s none
To spare –
White fluffy stuff cascades around and makes my daughters smiles know no bounds…
Her tongue sticks out, to catch a flake
And happiness flows from her to me, there’s no mistake!

So pure, such joy such innocence,
She knows she’s there –
And how can I cease discontent
O cannot want, or cry or try
Because my love is larger than,
Stronger than – see, it blows away the very rhyme
I lose it all, lost in all time –

My love, my child, filled with grace –
I shudder so, should you take my place
You are beyond all compare,
I cannot love love you more – and I am there,
But should I cease to be for thee, know only that
I love you more.

Go and go and work and do, Godspeed and bless you so,
You are the best and truly more,
I Love you, through and through –
Keep your head up high, remember to breathe, you are the very best
God Bless you Jess my baby girl, my dream
The best the very,very best…

Millet Salad

So many wonderful whole grains out there, I've decided to experiment with some...last night I made a super easy and really yummy millet salad...i served it with some pan seared duck breast, peach chutney and broccoli....

Millet Salad

• 1 cup millet
• 1 Tbs olive oil (optional)
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced into half moons then cut in half again
• 1/2 English cucumber cut into small dice
• 2 Tbs chopped black olives
• 3 Tbs chopped Italian parsley
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1.5 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp salt black pepper

heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add olive oil if using, rinse and drain millet
add to skillet and toast stirring frequently for 7 mins or until a deep golden brown
add water and bring to a low boil, cover and lower heat cook for 20 mins undisturbed.
Combine olive oil, vinegar and salt in a bowl, whisk well. Add veggies, black pepper and millet - toss to combine - let stand at room temp at least 10 mins before serving

Shrimp Noodle Bowl

This was a lot of fun, my daughter and I made dashi from scratch - what is dashi? Its a Japanese fish stock and it serves as a base for a wonderful noodle bowl, featuring shrimp and tofu...the kombu is dried kelp, and its responsible for one of the five tastes the human tongue experiences, umami (or savoriness) the other four are: bitterness, sourness, sweetness and saltiness...

Dashi

• 8 cups cold water
• 2x4" pieces of kombu (dried kelp) wiped with a dry cloth
• 1 cup bonito flakes (dried fish flakes)
• 1" piece peeled and sliced ginger
• 1 oz mixed dried mushrooms

Udon with shrimp

• Dashi
• 3/4 lb raw shrimp
• 1/2 cup diced firm tofu
• 2 green onions, sliced into 2" pieces and then sliced thinly lenthwise

put kombu in a soup pot, cover with water and bring to a simmer
(do NOT boil) let simmer for 20 mins, discard kombu, add bonito and ginger (off heat)
let sit for 10 mins. Drain stock, discard solids. Return stock to pot add dried mushrooms and let
sit for 20 mins, drain stock and reserve mushrooms, coarsly chop. Return stock to pot and heat, add shrimp and tofu cook for a few mins until shrimp turns pink, add chopped mushrooms, season with salt and white pepper.

Cook Udon noodles according to package directions (in boiling water for 3 mins if using fresh udon) Place 1 cup of noodels in each serving bowl, ladle some dashi and shrimp atop and garnish with green onions