EWE: Squash Season

Our garden is doing well despite the dry hot weather. The tomatoes and cucumbers are really giving us good harvests. I’ve put up 12 quarts of pickles so far. The freezer is full of tomatoes and I’ve eaten more Fried Green Tomatoes than any year previously. The only thing that did not do well was the Squash. We harvested a few before the plants gave up the ghost and died. With the few squash and zucchini I harvested I made Ellie’s Herbed Squash Casserole. In addition to the squash there was lots of cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil, and chives. Delish!!!

It was delicious. I made it for our church supper and there was very little left.

I only made one change in the recipe. Instead of whole wheat breadcrumbs I used crushed Pork Skins. Trying to make it more KETO friendly.

The recipe is from Ellie’s Comfort Food Fix. Page 224

Check with Kayte and Gaye to see if they did an EWE recipe this week.

 

TWD: Lemon-Asparagus Quiche

Tuesdays with Dorie (Greenspan) means something delicious is cooking in the kitchen. This Tuesday it is a quiche. One of my favorite lunch meals. I love a good rich and creamy quiche.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure about this particular recipe. Only because of one ingredient – Lemon. I just wasn’t sure if I would like the lemon in it. But I went with my mantra – Trust Dorie! Trust Dorie!

I only made one change for the recipe. I made the quiche crustless. I’m trying to be ok low carb and still eat delicious foods.

First, you cannot taste the lemon. Second, you couldn’t taste the asparagus. Maybe that was because I put TOO much herb in the dish. Overall I had to say I wasn’t impressed with this one. Sorry, Dorie.

The quiche is on page 332 of Dorie’s Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty and Simple.

This week we had a choice of the Quiche or the Mochaccino Muffins ( I made these for the last TWD for May.)

For more of these treats visit the two lists of comments. (May 10 or May 22)

 

EWE: Calzone

Elle Krieger has some wonderful healthy recipes in all of her cook books. I have so many marked I may never make all of them. Thank goodness for Thursdays…and Eating with Ellie,. The Broccoli and Cheese Calzone recipe comes from Comfort Food Fix page 211. Since I am trying to get back on KETO I modified the recipe just a tad. Instead of using store bought pizza dough I made my calzone with KETO fathead dough. Pretty darn good!

I used all the ingredients for the filling since they are all KETO friendly. I added the marinara and basil leaves into the calzone rather than leaving them for dipping. And this was delicious. I added garlic powder to the dough for extra flavor. The recipe for the fathead dough is enough for two calzones. Eat and enjoy!!

Check with Kayte and Gaye so see if they made anything this week.

 

GFGF: The Middle East

For April the Good Friends Good Food chose to cook dishes from the Middle East. The Middle east consists of Egypt, Israel, Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Kuwait, etc. It is difficult to separate one country’s cuisine from another as they are all so similar.

Zucchini with Tomatoes

This is a very simple dish. Slice and saute garlic and coriander in olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, peeled and chopped, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Simple. I have made zucchini and tomatoes many times but never with coriander. Completely different flavor. And I would have added more coriander.

Fish in Hot Sauce

Fish and other seafood are quite popular in the countries along the Arabian Gulf as well as the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the Sea of Galilee.

Serves 4:
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoonsground coriander
4 thick fillets whitefish , about 3/4 lb each (I used catfish)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and white pepper
lemon slices , to garnish
Sauce
1/2 stick butter
1/2 small sweet red pepper, diced
4 medium tomatoes , skinned and chopped
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2teaspoorigroundginger
a pinch of salt and pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste mixed with a little water

Pound the garlic and coriander together in a pestle and mortar. Rub this into the fish fillets and chill in a covered bowl for 2 hours.
Heat the oven to 375°F. Remove the fish from the bowl and rub with a mixture of the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Lay the fillets in a flat, oiled baking dish, cover tightly with foil and bake for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.

Melt the butter in a skillet and saute the pepper, tomato and onion until soft. Add the seasonings and the tomato paste and mix well. Simmer for 10-15 minutes on a low heat.
Serve the fish in the baking dish, garnished with the hot sauce and lemon slices.

This was delicious. Definitely a keeper. BTW both of thse are KETO friendly.

As it turns out I am the only one who did the Middle Eastern recipes this month. I still have one or two I want to try: Prawns in Tomato Sauce (cinnamon). And Maamoul which is a stuffed pastry. I have the mold I just haven’t made the pastry…YET!!

Both of these recipes came from Cooking the Middle Eastern Way by Christine Osborne

Next month…?

 

EWE: Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Parmesan

Many (MANY) years ago there was a movie titled “If its Tuesday it must be Belgium”. It was a simple romcom about a group of people (Suzanne Pleshette, John Cassavetes, Ian McShane, etc.) on a European tour. Well I’m going to use that title and change it up a bit. If its Thursday it must be Eating with Ellie Day!

This is a super easy dish to make. It is basically Chick Parm with veggies added. It was very tasty. Eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper were the veggies in the dish. And lots of Parm and Mozz cheese.

And it is KETO friendly. 16 g fat. 10g carb. 3 g fiber

The recipe is from Ellie’s you have it made. page 211

Gaye and Kayte also eat with Ellie.

 

WWDH: Parmesan wafers

I needed something really easy for Wednesdays with Donna Hay. REALLY easy. I am prepping for two teas this weekend and I also wanted something new to serve. I ran across this recipe for Parmesan Wafers in Donna’s flavours. (pg 147)

Simple ingredients. Grated Parmesan (2 Tbl) and shredded basil (2 tsp). 5 minutes at 400 and done.(Normally we don’t publish the recipes but this one is just so simple.) One could increase one or the other of the ingredients and they would still turn out well.

It just doesn’t get any easier. And they are so delicate looking. And tasty. They would be perfect served with soup or a salad. Or just a snack. By the way KETO friendly!!

Want more? Check with Kayte and Gaye.

 

EWE: Ratatouille

I am always looking for a good KETO friendly side. Ellie provided that with her recipe for RATATOUILLE. In case you don’t know what that is Ellie calls it a classic, French-country vegetable stew. She also says it is very versatile, ” serve it with a fried egg on top, as a side…, as a topper for crostini, stuff it into an omelet or top it with some mozzarella for a French pizza.” Basically it can be used for just about anything. I simply chose to use it as a side with some roasted chicken.

My

This stew contains eggplant, onion, bell pepper, squash, and garlic. I had a few ‘shrooms in the fridge so I threw them in as well.

VERY tasty. Definitely a repeat.

The recipe is from Ellie Krieger’s you have it made. (page 314)

Check in with Kayte and Gaye for their Ellie Dishes.

 

EWE: Fish

I love making Ellie’s recipes. they are healthy and infinitely adaptable. this recipe called for Sea Bass but I didnt have any. Couldn’t find any. But I did have some Trout. So I made Trout with Tomato, Olives, and Capers. And enjoyed it immensely.

It was a little sweet and a little salty. I still have some tomatoes from the garden. No kalamata olives, however, so sliced black olives were subbed. Definitely a keeper and a repeat. Definitely KETO friendly. Maybe with catfish from our pond?

The recipe is from Ellie Krieger’s The Food You Crave. (pg 228) You can also find the recipe here.

Kayte and Gaye are also cooking with Ellie.

If you want to cook along with us just let one of us know. We’d love to have you join us.

 

WWDH: little frittatas

I needed something quick and small for todays’ Wednesdays with Donna Hay. These little frittatas were perfect. As Donna says “served hot or cold (they) are great for a picnic or other portable occasion.” She is right. Infinitely portable and very tasty.

They use a simple base. Eggs and heavy cream beaten with cracked pepper. The additions are endless.
Add in anything you want – cheese, potatoes, pesto, spinach, bacon – anything. I used grated cheddar cheese and chopped ham. The perfect snack. Especially if one is on KETO.

The recipe is from Donna’s new food fast. (page 122)

Kayte and Gaye are also in our Wednesdays with Donna Hay group. Check out what they made for today.

 

EWE: Green Beans

Well, my goodness but that week went by quickly. Didn’t we just have a Thursday?

And if it is Thursday we are cooking/baking with Ellie Krieger.

This week I needed a quick side. I found some fresh green beans (frozen) from the garden and decided to go with Ellie’s Green Beans with Mushrooms and Shallots.

We love fresh green beans and usually fix them just plain with onions, a few small tomatoes, bacon and maybe a small potato or two. This is much better than that. Pre-cooked Beans added into sliced mushrooms and shallots that have been sauteed in olive oil (I used 1/2 EVOO and 1/2 butter.) Very flavorful and very quick. And they are KETO friendly.

I may cook green beans this way all the time from now on.

The recipe is on page 246 of Ellie’s The Food you Crave. But I also found it on The Food Network

Check with Kayte and Gaye