No lettuce for lunch? Oh, what to do!?!

As 12pm. was swiftly on its way today, I scurried into the kitchen to make lunch for Esther and I, and for my siblings as well.
After making a good old Texas meal of Quesadilla's for our ever hungry and appreciative brother's and sister, I scrounged around in the fridge for a few minutes trying to see what I could find to make Esther and I something to eat.
What, no lettuce? How could that be! I was thinking a salad sounded really good especially since the high was 75 degrees today:-) ( I just love Texas!)
Anway, since I was obviously not going to get my salad, I decided to get a bit creative with our delectible fridge ingredients; tuna, red peppers, and zucchini..........what an interesting combination.

I was really excited though, as I thought I could make something really good and different with these ingredients. Plus, I was really needing a break from practicing my harp anyway, and having to create a new and exotic lunch was just the perfect "harp practice" intermission!

I sliced the zucchini with a vegetable peeler, and then sprinkled it with a bit of chopped red pepper for flavor and color. What to do with the tuna? I love asian food, so I mixed it with a bit of soy sauce and tahini. After that was all done, I topped the zucchini with the tuna mixture.
After a drizzle or two of flax oil, it was set!
Now for a side, that was easy. We had some hummus that Esther made a few days ago so I put that on the side with a few slices of red pepper. A little more color was needed, and there was also an empty spot on the plate that looked lonely;-) So a few orange slices and 3 blackberries would do the trick of filling in that bare spot.......and tada, presto, we have lunch! Of course I told Esther she had to let me take a picture of it before she could devour it:-)

Double Chocolate Brownies

Since Valentines day is arriving within the week, we thought we had better make something chocolate and share the recipe with y'all! These brownies are an adaption from a recipe we saw on Elana's Pantry, we thought they looked so scrumptious that we must try them! Upon viewing the recipe, we found that we didn't have all the exact ingredients on hand, so we switched a few things around from the original recipe. They were just as good as the picture looked and we will be keeping the recipe in our brownie archives:-)

Double Chocolate Walnut Brownies

½ cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

¼ cup coconut flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

½ cup honey

¼ cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ cup chopped walnuts(opt)

⅓ cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

1. Place ½ cup chocolate chips in food processor and pulse until the consistency of coarse sand
2. Pulse in coconut flour, salt and baking soda until combined
3. Pulse in eggs, agave, grapeseed oil and vanilla
4. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pyrex dish
5. Sprinkle walnuts and remaining chocolate chips over batter
6. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes
7. Cool and serve

Autumn Vegetable Stew

Here is the recipe for the stew I promised!

Autumn Vegetable Stew with Cheddar-Garlic Crumble Crust

For the Cheddar Topping:

2 c. flour( we used whole wheat)

1 tsp. salt

1 T. plus 1 tsp. baking powder

6 T. butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

1-1/3 c. heavy cream( we used milk)

1 ½ tsp. finely chopped garlic

Pinch of coarse ground pepper

½ c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

For the Vegetable stew

About 3 T. olive oil

About 3 T. butter

1 red onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch rounds

1 medium celery root, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces(we used russet potatoes)

1 acorn squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces( we used butternut squash)

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces( we used sweet potatoes)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 c. dry white wine

3 T. tomato paste (we skipped this)

3 c. chicken, vegetable broth or water

1 T. fresh chopped marjoram( we used dried)

Salt and pepper to taste

To make topping, mix flour, salt and baking powder in large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry knife until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cream, garlic, and pepper. Add the cheddar cheese and mix lightly with a wooden spoon until mixture just holds together. Let rest.

To make the stew. Heat the oven to 400. In a large saucepan, heat about ½ the oil and butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery root, cook stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned about 7 min. Transfer the cooked veggies to a large 13x9 inch pan` . Add the rest of the butter and oil to the skillet. Add the squash and parsnip and sauté until they are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for another couple minutes, and then add all to the 13x9 pan. Increase the heat and add to high and add the wine, paste and broth to sauté pan. Bring to boil. Scraping up the browned bits stuck to the bottom, lower heat and simmer about 3 min. Add this liquid to the baking pan with the veggies, sprinkle with marjoram and season with salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil and bake the veggies just until tender about 30mins. Remove foil. Using a large spoon, dot the surface of the veggies with Ping-Pong ball sized dollops of cheddar topping. The top of the casserole should look like the surface of the moon; bumps and craters are ideal. Return the casserole to the oven, uncovered until topping is cooked and browned about 25 min.

Dorie Greenspan's Cinnamon Chocolate Squares

It seems that the only things we have been posting recently have been dessert, and not healthy ones at that! This week we are making a new recipe that is not sweet, it's called Autumn Root Vegatable Stew with a Cheddar Garlic Crumble Crust. We are a little late in making it since its been a while since Fall but there still is a enough cold days left here in the South to make Stew, so we have justified our tardiness in making it:)

I will be posting the recipe next week so be sure to check back!

Cinnamon Squares

For the Cake:

1 1/4 c. plus 2 T. sugar

1T. plus 2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder

1 3/4 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

pinch of salt

3/4 c. milk

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

10 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

For the Frosting:

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 1/2 T. butter, cut into 4 pieces

Heat oven to 350. Butter a 8inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Place the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the cake:

Stir 2 T. sugar, 2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and espresso powder together in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour remaining 1 1/4 c. sugar the baking powder, salt and remaining cinnamon. In another large bowl whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and gently whisk until you have a homogeneous batter. Now, using a the whisk or a rubber spatula, fold the butter with a light touch, just until the butter is absorbed. You'll have a smooth, satiny batter. Scrape half the batter into the pan and smooth top. Sprinkle with the chocolate over the batter and dust with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Cover with the rest of the batter and smooth the top again. Bake fir 35-40 min. or until the cake is puffed and beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan; a thin knife inserted into the center will come out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest 15 min. before unmolding it onto another rack. Peel off the paper, invert it onto the first rack, and cool to room temp right side up.

To make frosting:

Put the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl and fit the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, stirring gently and often, just until they melt. Be careful not to overheat the mixture so much that it thins out; the chocolate should be smooth, very shiny, thick and spreadable. ( If it thins, leave the frosting at room temp for a bit, until it thickens a little.) Using an offset metal icing spatula or a table knife, spread the frosting in generous sweeps and swirls over the top of the cake. Allow the frosting to set at room temp, then cut the cake into 9 squares, each about 2 1/2 inches on a side.

What do you prefer?

Cast you vote on the poll to your right!

Nutella Brownie Recipe!

Nutella Cheesecake Brownies

2c. flour

1/2c. cocoa powder

4eggs

2c. sugar

1 13 oz. jar Nutella

1 ¾ c. butter, melted and cooled

4 eggs

2 8oz. pkg. cream cheese

1/3 c. sugar

Heat oven to 325. Grease and lightly flour a 13x9 inch pan. In a large bowl combine 4eggs, 2 c. sugar, ½ c. nutella, and melted butter. Beat with a hand mixer on medium till well blended. Add Flour and cocoa powder; stir until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan. In another large bowl beat cream cheese, rest of nutella, eggs, and sugar until very smooth. Carefully spread over brownie batter. Bake for 50-65 min. or until cream cheese layer is firm and set. Cool in pan. Cover and chill before cutting into brownies. Makes around 32 brownies.

Nutella Brownies!

Recipe to come soon!