Saturday, August 13, 2011

Bruschetta

I have been a lifelong tomato hater. Unless they are mashed up and made into some sort of sauce or salsa I was not touching them. Then this week we ordered bruschetta at a cafe for dinner and I loved it. I tried to replicate it at home. I had pretty good results but I think I can do better next time.

Ingredients:
Sourdough bread
1 tablespoon Oregano
2 tablespoons Basil
2 tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup balsamic vinegar
pepper to taste
mozzarella  cheese

Step 1: Chop up your tomatoes. I chopped them like shown below. Jon thought they were too chunky so he chopped them up some more. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.
Bring balsamic vinegar to a boil and then turn down the heat. You want it to reduce quite a bit. I reduced mine to about half a cup but I was hungry and impatient.
While that is reducing chop your garlic. Or make your husband do it like I did.
Then combine the garlic and olive oil together in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
Toss the tomatoes with the basil, oregano, and oil mixture. Crack some pepper over the top.
I was so hungry that I got into a big hurry and didn't even try to make this look great. I just sliced a couple of bread slices in half. I was suppose to toast it but was just like "I'm hungry!  Forget the toaster!"
Then I topped the bread with the tomatoes.
Then I poured the balsamic vinegar over the top and topped off with slices of mozzarella.
It doesn't look that pretty. It tasted really good. We scarfed it all down. Like I said, so hungry!
Jon says next time we should toast the bread, pour the balsamic vinegar over it, top with tomatoes and mozzarella and pop it in the oven for a few minutes and then top with more balsamic vinegar. Since we have everything we need to make it again I will update after we try that method.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Guest Blog: Zucchini Soup

I've been really lazy this week and ate the lemony orzo salad and chocolate orange muffins all week long. I didn't make a single new thing. Fortunately for me, my friend Emilie, the author of Teaching Ain't For Heroes, made some soup which looks delicious. Emilie is a public school teacher in Kentucky and her blog always has an interesting and insightful perspective on the rewards and challenges of teaching.


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I got the recipe from here and decided to tweak it. It's hot outside, so I thought a nice chilled soup would be delicious.


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Our ingredients are:
6 Zucchini (I really like Zucchini and I wanted it to be thicker)

1 1/2 tablespoons of Minced Garlic (I don't think I like shallots, but I like garlic!)

3 tablespoons of Curry Powder

1/2 teaspoon of Cumin

1/4 teaspoon of Turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoon of Salt

1/2 teaspoon of Black Pepper

3 cups Chicken Broth (I had no stock, but I had broth!)

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

2 tablespoons Lite Cream Cheese

Wash your zucchini and get to cutting.


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Roughly cut the zucchini into quartered slices. After you have finished cutting, you can start your cooking. This is the only real prep you have to do.

I combined all of my spices into a single bowl as I needed my measuring spoons for the olive oil and didn't want olive oil in any of my spices.

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Put your olive oil in the pan along with the minced garlic and turn on your stove to low medium (I have gas, so I just watch the flame).

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Pour in your zucchini.

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Cover and let them sweat a bit. After they have gotten a bit soft, you can add your spices.

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It starts looking really delicious.

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Your kitchen should start smelling deliciously spicy. This is when you add your chicken broth.


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Let me tell you my secret. I didn't take the soup out and blend it. I use an immersion blender. I can blend while it cooks by using this handy thing.

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The secret is the spinning blade at the bottom. It blends and stirs the food without having to worry about a mess.

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And blend!


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After a few minutes, it looks like this.


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The original recipe called for creme fraiche. I did not care for the amount of calories in this. I cheated and instead used lite cream cheese to get that delicious creaminess.


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I used the immersion blender to get that mixed in well. When everything was finished, I chilled it for several hours in the fridge. I garnished my first bowl with some extra curry.


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It was delicious. It's not very filling, but at 112 calories, I don't expect it to be. You read that right. 112 calories. As I prepared it, this is the nutritional breakdown. Yes, Weight Watchers (Points Plus) people. This soup is just 3 points per serving. You can eat the entire pot for 18 points. Enjoy.

  Calories112.6
  Total Fat5.6 g
     Saturated Fat1.2 g
     Polyunsaturated Fat0.7 g
     Monounsaturated Fat3.3 g
     Trans Fat0.0 g
  Cholesterol5.0 mg
  Sodium514.1 mg
  Potassium928.7 mg
  Total Carbohydrate16.0 g
     Dietary Fiber5.0 g
     Sugars6.5 g
  Protein3.1 g