Vegetable Strata With Tomato Coulis

This has to sit overnight! I tell you this now after learning the hard way myself

about 9 thick slices french bread
5 eggs
2 cups half and half
5tbs dijon mustard
salt and pepper
2 tbs dutch poppyseeds
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 bad stoplight peppers
1 onion
1 1/2 lb mushrooms (if your gross)
as much garlic as you like
3 cups cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and swiss)

saute onions for 3 minn, then add peppers, garlic and mushrooms cooking till all the moisture is out. mix in tomatoes

cub bread

in a large glass baking dish (butter well)
layer 1/3 breadcrumbs, poppy seeds
veggies, and cheese
repeat.
I like to somehow have the top layer be just bread and cheese

in a big bowl mix beat eggs, half and half mustard, salt and pepper
pour over top of strata

let sit overnight!!!!!!!
before baking let stand at room temp for 15 minn
bake for hour at 400

throw together Coulis

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds very ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
Salt and white pepper

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil and saute onion until softened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer before adding the tomatoes. Stir well to combine, season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook until tomatoes have softened and most of the released liquid has evaporated.



finished kitchen disaster!

Simple Arugula Salad

I have a great love for arugula, maybe bordering on obsession, if one can be obsessed with a leafy green. I am always trying to invent new ways to incorporate it into my meals. Usually it takes the form of a salad since I think that is where it shines best! The other day I just happened to have arugula and another favorite of mine, beets. I threw this together with whatever I could find. The end product was pretty delicious.


For the Salad:
1 bag/bunch of arugula
1 apple (I used a pink lady)
3 small beets (I slice & roast them at about 375 with olive oil, salt & pepper, until soft or crispy!!)
Cheese (this time I used a Cheddar/Gruyere blend and it was a really delicious addition)
a handful of toasted almond slices


For the dressing:
Olive oil
1 lemon
white balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
a lil honey


The great thing about this salad is that it can be versatile, you can really throw anything in there and experiment with different vinegars, cheeses and nuts. I have made so many variations of this. Yay for salad!

Garbanzo Bean Dumpling Soup!

My Mom has been watching a lot of t.v. lately since she can't leave the house much. One plus side of that is that I get all the good highlights from daytime t.v., if there are any! She has been watching a show called The Chew lately. Several weeks ago they made a veggie dumpling soup that sounded great and I finally got around to making it. Here it is with my changes:




For the Dumplings:
1-1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 tablespoon Baking Powder (heaping)
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1-1/2 cup Half-and-Half
some fresh chives
Sift together all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add half-and-half, stirring gently to combine. Set Aside.

For the Broth:
2 Quart Better than Bullion Vegetable Broth (I definitely added more water than this though I can't say how much)
some dried thyme
a dash of paprika
2 garlic gloves
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion finely chopped
2 Carrots finely chopped
1 15 oz. can Chickpeas drained and rinse, I used more than this because I had a large can
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté carrot, onion, garlic with dried thyme. Sauté ingredients until softened and golden brown. Deglaze the bottom of the pan with the wine, then add the chickpeas and bay leaf. Stir together, and then begin to add the broth. Once fully added, season with salt and pepper to taste, I thought it was great with a lot of pepper.

Use a teaspoon to roughly scoop out dough, Drop teaspoons of dumpling dough into the simmering pot. Add more chives. Cover pot halfway and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Check seasoning and add salt if needed.
Makes 2-4 servings.


Now, I do have a few things to say about this soup:
First-the dumpling recipe made WAY too many dumplings! I mean, our soup was overflowing with them and we still had more dough leftover. I would say cut that part in half or just double the soup recipe.
Second-be careful about the size of the dumpling dough when you drop them in. The recipe said to drop them by the tablespoon but I thought they were way too big and didn't really cook all the way through. That is why I suggested using a teaspoon in the recipe.
Third-I HIGHLY suggest making this soup the day before. I wasn't overly impressed with it the night that i made it. The next day however, it was amazing! It tasted like a totally different soup. I think the dumplings really soaked up all of the broth. Give it time!

I might try making it with more corn meal, or even garbanzo bean flour, the next time. I like dumplings but there is something a little weird about that gluey consistency that they usually have. These were definitely better but I think more corn meal would help.

Sorry for the crappy photos!

Make this, before winter is gone!