Pan-Seared Salmon w/ Mixed Greens Pesto & Lentil Black Rice Salad

Today is the first Friday of the Lenten season, and in honor of that, Leslie and I are sharing fish and seafood recipes for today's edition of She Made, Ella Hace. So, here's the thing—I wasn't raised Catholic (and I'm not Catholic now), so I've never done the whole abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent thing. And while my husband was raised Catholic, he's not a practicing Catholic now.

Smoked Turkey and Spinach Curry inspired by Bridget Jones's Diary | #FoodnFlix

"It all began on New Year's Day, in my 32nd year of being single. Once again I found myself on my own and going to my mother's annual turkey curry buffet."

She says it like it's a bad thing. I suppose that in Bridget's situation I may feel the same. But since my mother doesn't hold an yearly Turkey Curry Buffet, and never once tried to set me up when I was single, I find it a fairly brilliant tradition. I'm thinking about starting my own New Year's Day Turkey Curry Buffet tradition, actually. It sounds both fun and delicious. Of course, I also think a summertime "Tarts and Vicars" party would be a blast, so...

In case you hadn't guessed yet, this month the Food 'n Flix club is watching Bridget Jones's Diary. I was excited for this pick since I hadn't seen it in years. I watched it way back when, and have caught bits and pieces on tv now and again over the years, but I'd pretty much forgotten it. I couldn't actually recall any of the scenes if my life depended on it. Apparently I didn't appreciate it as much at 25 as I do at 39 (perfectly sandwiching the age that Bridget was slogging her way through in the film)...because certainly I would have remembered it if I did. That all changed after I cozied up with it on New Year's Eve this year. I kind of love it now.

Veggie Lovers Lasagna

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dreamfields. All opinions are 100% my own.

Today I'm partnerting with Dreamfields Pasta to celebrate National Pasta Month. I can think of no better way to celebrate than with a pan stacked with wavy lasagna noodles that are layered with tons of veggies, and accented by a light cream sauce that has been flavored with sundried tomatoes. I'm pretty sure that even the carnivores in your life will be sated after eating a slice of this meatless lasagna.

So, I know lasagna sort of seems like a weekend dish. A dish that you need some time to prepare. But really, once you have all of your components ready (noodles cooked, sauce stirred, veggies chopped)—it's just a matter of layering things into the pan. Hands-on time is only about 20 minutes. Once that part is complete, the oven does all of the work while you finish up some homework, throw in a load of laundry, or set the table and wrangle everybody to the table. I'd say it's very possible to make lasagna a weekday meal.

Since this week of National Pasta Month with Dreamfields is all about vegetarian meals, I left out the meat sauce and loaded up on the veggies. I wanted to use a white sauce, but drenching it in Alfredo didn't seem quite right, so I chose a light Alfredo (if you're making it at home, use skim milk) and then fortified it by swirling in a little sundried tomato pesto; basically a creamy flavor-bomb.

Egg White Frittata w/ Mushrooms, Spinach, & Goat Cheese inspired by Trinity Stones

So, apparently Paranormal Romance is a thing. When I first saw it, all I could picture were aliens in love. Fortunately this novel has no such nonsense in it. It has Nephilim and humans in love. Much better. And I'm being entirely serious. But if asked to give it a genre, I would probably have chosen Supernatural Romance over Paranormal Romance - it just seems more fitting. But I'll move on.

Would you believe me if I told that I've never read a Romance novel before? It's true. They just never appealed to me. I remember studying the Fabio-filled paperback covers in the grocery store when I was a kid, though. They didn't even pique my interest back then. Now, this isn't a straight-up Romance, so I still can't say that I've read one. But if the few pages filled with scenes full of deep penetrating thrusts, milking his hard length, and swirling tongue on sensitive peaks are just a glimpse into their pages, I won't be starting anytime soon. At those points, I felt like I shouldn't be reading the book while my kids were in the same room!

Scampi Rockefeller

I mentioned the other day that I've been experimenting with absinthe in the kitchen.  This dish is another product of those experiments.  A close favorite to the salmon in that initial post, actually.  It's a riff on two classics - Scampi with its garlicky butter sauce and the absinthe and "green" of (Oysters) Rockefeller.

Combined, they make one of those dishes that I can just keep on eating... without feeling guilty.

It's light and fresh, yet altogether satisfying with the strands of angel hair pasta that twist their way over and around the plump, pink shrimp.  I've been so pleasantly surprised at how well that light, black-licorice flavor of absinthe plays up not only the tarragon in any dish... but also butter.  I mean, I'm not one to shy away from butter sauces anyway, but when absinthe and butter make a date and get saucy, it's a little bit like the heavens have opened up and sent out a warm, enveloping breeze on a mild, summer's day.

Assyrian Spinach Pies {Bread Baking Babes}

The Babes are back!  And this month we're bringing you some tasty little pockets of fragrant bread stuffed with a mixture of spinach, walnuts, feta cheese, lemon, and pomegranate arils (well, mine don't have pom arils because poms have made themselves scarce around here as of late).  Tell me that doesn't make your mouth water just thinking about it!

Plus, this is an extra special month, because it commemorates the 5th year anniversary of the Bread Baking Babes - way to go Babes!  Babe Tanna is our host kitchen of the month for this event, and she has chosen a delicious way to celebrate by bringing these Assyrian Spinach Pies into our kitchens.

The thing that intrigued me most about this recipe was the ground mahlab in the dough - something I had never heard of before.  It is made from the pits of sour black cherries, and it lends a lightly fragrant note to the dough that is both present and barely noticeable.  At the same time.  Strange, huh?  It's like, you probably wouldn't realize anything was missing if you made the dough without it - and it would still work.  But once you have actually  made the dough and included it, you couldn't imagine it without mahlab.  Does that make any kind of sense?

My first obstacle was the inability to find any pomegranates around here anymore.  They are out in full-force at Christmastime, but then they peter off and disappear entirely by the beginning of February.  Okay, I'll admit, I found two sad and withered ones.  But I was highly skeptical that the arils held any juice anymore, so I decided to pass.  Instead I wanted to substitute dried, tart cherries to echo the mahlab in the dough.  I didn't realize until I was putting the filling together than I had already eaten most of the package that I had, so I supplemented them with dried cranberries.  Hey, all three are red, tart-ish fruits - it worked.

My second obstacle was time.  Well, sort of.  I had the time.  I should say that my second obstacle was gas.  In the car.  I ran out of it.  Long story short, our gas gauge is broken, so I set the "trip counter" and count miles until I need to stop at the gas station.  Apparently with the cold weather and the need to warm the car up often, I misjudged a bit.  And ran out of gas.

I had my morning all planned out.  I would get the dough together, knead it, and set it in the bowl to rise.  While it was rising, I would run to the store - on the opposite side of town (but I could make it, I know how long it all takes) - to pick up something that I had on hold.  I ran into a bit of a time-suck at the store when they couldn't find my hold.  Of course.  That's just my luck.  But they were great.  They wound up giving me a discount for the trouble.  And I didn't even ask them to.  So not really a bad thing.

I still had time to get home before my dough was done rising.  Until I ran out of gas.  Nowhere near a gas station, mind you.  Thank gawd I didn't forget my phone that day.  So, two calls (one to the hubs at work to get him to bring me some gas, one to Natashya to marvel at how dorky I was)...a bit of confirmation that there are still good people in the world (thanks to the kind lady who stopped to make sure I was okay and had a cell phone)...and 45 minutes later, I was back on track.

My dough had risen for an extra 45 minutes - but it didn't seem to matter.  Phew!  It was beautiful and silky and pliable.  Yay!  (Ummmm...that was my "long story short".)

So really what I'm trying to say is - this dough is very forgiving.  And it tastes good.  And you should totally make it.  The end.

Assyrian Spinach Pies

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 2½ - 3 hours

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Keywords: bake bread entree vegetarian spinach nuts cheese Middle Eastern

Ingredients (12 pies)

dough

• 1½ tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 c. warm water (105°-115° F)
• ½ tsp. ground mahlab (made from the pits of sour black cherries)
• 1½ Tbs. ground flax seed
• 2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour + more as needed
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1½ Tbs. + 1 tsp. olive oil

filling

• ¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• ½ lb. baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• ½ c. (~2 oz.) chopped walnuts, toasted
• ¼ c. dried cherries, chopped a bit (or Pomegranate arils or dried cranberries)
• ~4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• juice & zest of 1 lemon
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

extras

• cooking spray (or olive oil or melted butter)
• Plain yogurt, to serve

Instructions

making the dough:

Sprinkle the yeast over ¼ cup of the warm water; add ground mahlab and stir well. Let stand until yeast is creamy, 5-10 minutes.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add remaining water, olive oil, and dissolved yeast. Stir with a wooden spoon until dough comes together into a mass. Let stand 5 minutes.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Dough should be soft and slightly tacky. (You can also knead in a stand mixer or in a bread machine.) Form dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, ~1 hour.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 12 even pieces. Shape into balls and set on floured work surface. Drape a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap lightly over the dough balls and let rest for 30 minutes (to make dough easier to roll).

prepare the filling:

Heat ~1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté, stirring from time to time, until golden and tender, 6-8 minutes. Add spinach and saute for just a minute or two until it just begins to wilt. Set aside off of heat.

Place the mixture in a large bowl, add walnuts, cherries (or whichever fruit you're using), feta, lemon juice and zest, and remaining olive oil; toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning (probably just pepper as the feta is fairly salty).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment, foil, or a silpat.

shaping the pies:

Working one at a time, roll a dough ball into a 6-inch circle with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Place ⅓ c. of filling in the center of the circle, leaving an inch or so of dough exposed. Lightly brush the exposed edges with water. Using one hand, lift the dough at the 10 o'clock, 2 o'clock, and 6 o'clock positions to meet in the center. Pinch together the seams firmly to seal (should look like a bit of a raised "Y" when done). Set on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. About 6 pies will fit on an average home baking tray.

finishing and baking:

Spray the surface of the pies with a coating of cooking spray (preferably olive oil-style), or else brush with a bit of olive oil or melted butter.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature with plain yogurt (the acidity and creaminess of the yogurt compliment the filling in the pies). Add a big salad and you've got yourself a meal.

notes:

You can freeze the baked pies once cool on a baking sheet; transfer to zippered freezer bags once completely frozen for up to 1 month. To reheat, thaw in the bag, then set on a baking sheet and slide into an oven that has been preheated to 350°F for ~10 minutes.

This dough is pretty forgiving. Even after letting it sit an extra 45 minutes in the first rise, it was beautifully silky and workable.

adapted from A Baker's Odyssey

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The Bread Baking Babes

Bake My Day - Karen

blog from OUR kitchen - Elizabeth

Feeding my Enthusiasms - Pat/Elle

girlichef  - Heather

Life's a Feast - Jamie

Living in the Kitchen with Puppies - Natashya

Lucullian Delights - Ilva

My Kitchen In Half Cups - Tanna

Notitie Van Lien - Lien

Paulchen's Foodblog - Astrid

Provecho Peru - Gretchen

Thyme for Cooking - Katie

If you'd like to bake along as a buddy this month (and celebrate 5 years!), bake up a batch and send them over to Tanna at My Kitchen in Half Cups, our Babe kitchen of the month by the 29th.  She'll send you a badge for baking along and round up all of the entries on her site!

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Bake Your Own Bread

Spinach and Citrus Salad w/ Ginger-Sesame Dressing

Carotenoids, Fiber, Lutein, Lycopene, Omega-3's, Potassium, Vitamin C, Gingerol, and Isoflavones.  I bet those were the first things that popped into your head when you saw the photo of this salad, weren't they?  Yes.  I thought the same thing.

NOT.

It was all about the deep, gorgeous colors when this was on the table.  But the same things that make this salad such a looker are exactly those things I mentioned above.  The jewel-tones of segmented grapefruit in two colors, blood orange, and apricots adorn the tender green leaves of baby spinach.  Candied nuts gleaming with a thin shell of sugar are tucked amongst these bright bursts of color.  And the musky, seductive scent of sesame oil and ginger complete the experience.

If you don't do it for the looks...you've got to make this for the awesome health benefits and fantastic flavors!

Spinach and Citrus Salad w/ Ginger Sesame Dressing

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: salad vegan citrus spinach ginger blood orange

Ingredients (serves 8-12)

Salad

• 10-12 oz. baby spinach
• 2 ruby red grapefruit, segmented
• 2 white grapefruit, segmented
• 4 blood oranges, segmented
• 4 oz. candied walnuts (see below)
• 4 oz. candied hazelnuts (see below)
• 4 oz. dried apricots, julienned
• Ginger Sesame Dressing (see below)

Quick Candied Nuts

• ½ c. sugar
• 1½ c. nuts (any type...I used equal parts walnuts and hazelnuts here)
• coarse salt

Ginger Sesame Dressing

• ¼ c. grated ginger root
• ¼ c. soy sauce
• ¼ c. rice vinegar
• ¼ c. sesame oil
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Salad

Place spinach in a large serving bowl. Toss with as much dressing as you'd like (start with about half of the recipe and adjust as needed).

Add grapefruit and blood orange segments, apricots, and candied nuts. Toss again gently. Serve and enjoy!

Quick Candied Nuts (yield: 1½ c.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Slide into oven and bake for ~5 minutes or until golden and lightly toasted. Set aside to cool a bit.

Place sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium, stirring with a wooden spoon once the sugar starts melting. Stir until sugar has completely melted and medium-amber in color. Quickly add the nuts to the pan and stir quickly to coat each one.

Turn out onto a silpat or sheet of parchment and working quickly, use a couple of forks to separate the nuts. Sprinkle with a good smattering of salt and allow to cool completely.

Ginger Sesame-Dressing (yield: ~1 c.)

Combine all of the ingredients (black pepper to taste) in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake it up!

You could easily half this recipe as you probably won't use it all here...but it's so good that you might like having the extra around.

Salad & dressing adapted from FoodTrients. Nuts slightly adapted from Simply Recipes.

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Whole Food Wednesdays

Shrimp and Spinach Brown Rice Risotto

Do people eat risotto as a side dish?  Because I pretty much always treat it as an entree.  I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, though.  It's such a rich, creamy, comforting entity that a little goes a long way.  But.  Since I don't eat it all that often...yes, I've made it twice now in about a month's time, but that's rare...I reason that it's okay.

Normally I stick with the traditional arborio rice in a risotto, but this one uses brown rice.  I used long grain brown rice because it's what I had in the pantry.  And it takes about double the time of a normal risotto to make.  That, my friends, is a loooooooong time. So gather up all of your "need-to-do's" and bring 'em in the kitchen with you.  You'll be there a while.  Next time I'll go with a short grain brown when making this.  I'm thinking it could cook in a bit less time.

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Frittata with a Simple Spinach Salad

Okay.  I almost didn't even bring this "public" since it's not much of a looker.  But the more I thought about it, the more I decided to go ahead and share it.  Why?  Because for being such a quick and simple meal to throw together, it was pretty darn delicious.  I can't deprive you of delicious.  I know that a white plate under the blinding sun didn't help any, either.  But when it turns 55° for a day or two in the midst of the normal 30°'s...and gloriously sunshiny to boot...I am not in control of my actions.  Mother Nature took over.  Before I knew it I was dragging picnic tables across driveways and basking in the warmth on my cheeks and nose. 

Perhaps that's what made this meal so fantastic?  Nah...but it definitely played a part.  This is perfect for brunch or even a light lunch.  Although I feel kind of odd saying that pasta makes anything light...but in this setting, I think it rings true.  As long as you just have your one serving and don't dive in for seconds.  Maybe not so light anymore then.  But I'll let you decide what kind of meal you need. 

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Frittata

slightly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens (March 2011)

makes 4-6 servings

1 c. broccoli florets (smallish)

~½ c. onions, small dice

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 c. cooked pasta, I used gemelli

~1¼ c. cooked chopped chicken

2 Tbs. chopped, fresh Basil

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

8 eggs, beaten

½-1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400° F.  In a large, non-stick skillet (that can go in the oven), heat oil over medium and sauté broccoli and onion until tender, ~5 mins.  Stir in pasta, chicken, basil, salt, and pepper and let cook until everything is just warmed through, 1-2 mins.  Pour eggs over mixture, running a spatula around the edge to lift the eggs as they set, allowing the uncooked eggs to run underneath.  Continue until mixture is almost set.  Sprinkle cheese over top and slide into the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until frittata is set and cheese is melted.

Simple Spinach Salad

(from same issue of BHG)

make 4 servings

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. olive oil

1-2 tsp. honey

4 c. baby spinach

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together first three ingredients in a large bowl, add spinach and toss to coat.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

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PPN is being hosted at Debbi Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie this week.