Quick Tip #3--Sour Cream and Strawberries

The other day, a couple friends and I were talking about some of our favorite summer snacks, and one mentioned the snazzy classic of strawberries, sour cream, and brown sugar. If you've never tried it before, I highly recommend it! Just dip your strawberries in a little sour cream, and then roll them in a bit of brown sugar. It's tart, sour, creamy, and sweet all at the same time!

But today, I was actually just wanting a smoothie; solid strawberries couldn't satisfy my craving. Unfortunately, I didn't have any yogurt or ice cream on hand, and I was feeling too lazy to head to the store. That's when the summer snack conversation came to my mind, and I had a stroke of inspiration! I've been using plain Greek yogurt in my smoothies lately and just adding a dash of sugar to compensate for the lack of sweetness. I really love the extra creaminess and the smooth texture the yogurt adds to the drink. Since I also sometimes substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream in savory dishes, I figured I'd do a different swap in my smoothie. I put a couple spoonfuls of sour cream in with my strawberries and milk, topped it off with one spoonful of brown sugar (in honor of the original snack), and honestly--it was FANTASTIC! I may have to permanently swap how I use sour cream and Greek yogurt--keep one for the sweet and the other for the savory!

The Miracle of Quiche

If you haven't discovered the amazing world of quiche yet, then let me introduce you! I like to think of quiche as the French equivalent of a casserole in that you can honestly throw anything you want in it (within reason) and it's super easy! All you need is a pie crust, eggs, milk, and then some ad-libbed ingredients that you have on hand. If you want it to be wonderful, though, I would recommend starting with a base of sautéed onions, a stronger cheese, and then one other ingredient to match your cheese. For example, the picture shows a variation on the classic quiche Lorraine--ham and Swiss (or Gruyère)--as well as a tomato, basil, feta combo. As I consider the latter my own personal chef d'œuvre, here's the recipe:

3 eggs (5 or 6 if you're using a quiche pan)
2/3 cup of milk or half and half ( about 1 1/4 if using 5-6 eggs)
1/2 medium onion
feta cheese
1 diced tomato
fresh basil leaves
pepper
pie crust


You can either buy a pre-made pie crust or make your own--here's the recipe I use if you'd like to make one yourself: Butter Flaky Pie Crust. First, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and get your pie crust ready. After sautéing the onions until they are translucent, put the onions, diced tomato, enough feta to lightly cover the tomatoes, and the fresh basil leaves onto the pie crust in that order. I usually tear the leaves into smaller pieces and use a small handful. Next, beat together the eggs and milk (or half and half) with an electric mixer. If you do it by hand, it won't be as fluffy when it's done! Add a dash of pepper to the egg/milk mixture and pour the whole thing over the other ingredients. Put it in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until the eggs are cooked through and the crust is golden brown.


Some other good combos that I've discovered are chicken/spinach/Swiss, chicken/Gorgonzola, and Gruyère/asparagus. 

Quick Tip #2--Tastier Tuna

A lot of people think it's very strange when I tell them that I don't really care for seafood but that I love tuna fish sandwiches. But what I guess they don't know is that tuna can be really tasty when you doctor it up a bit! Beyond that, it's cheap to buy a can of tuna; you can make two sandwiches out of each can, and as long as you don't open the cans, you don't have to worry about eating through your supply before it goes bad. Sounds like a perfect solution for me! So, if you haven't ever explored the world of a truly delicious tuna sandwich, here's what I recommend adding to the tuna itself:

1 heaping spoonful of mayonnaise
A few good squirts of ranch dressing (I prefer Hidden Valley)
1-2 chopped green onions (you can also use chives)
A dash of lemon pepper

The quantity of mayonnaise and the ranch dressing are subject to personal preference. I like my tuna to be fairly moist, although I drain it fully before adding anything else to it. But with this lovely mix of ingredients, some delicious wheat bread, cheese (I like Swiss), tomatoes, lettuce, and a bit of spicy brown mustard, you have a fantastic sandwich! For best results, consume with a glass of milk. :)

Crêpes--A Summer Staple

As a French teacher, I think I'm under an obligation to love crêpes. As a pseudo-foodie, however, it's my duty to be creative with them! While you can eat them any time of year, and the French even break them out for a holiday in February, I think they are positively perfect for summer time: light, simple, and very conducive to a variety of fresh produce. When deciding how to fill your crêpes, I generally suggest choosing at least one solid ingredient and one softer (e.g. cheese) or liquidy ingredient; if you do all soft stuff, then it has no substance and if you do all solid, it's dry and somewhat unpleasant. If you follow those rules, the creative possibilities are ENDLESS!


While a lot of people tend to think of crêpes as a dessert food and (in my opinion) err on the side of too sweet, I actually like to use them for full meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and I generally either mix savory and sweet or stick to the savory all together. So, in hopes of breaking people out of the Nutella-bananas-strawberries mode, here's a list of some of my favorite crêpe filling combinations:

• Blackberries/raspberries/plain cream cheese
• Honey ham (or smoked, if you prefer)/Swiss cheese
• Tomatoes/basil/feta (or fresh mozzarella)/olive oil and balsamic vinegar (just a slight drizzle)
• Tomatoes/mozzarella/pesto
• Grilled chicken/bacon/avocado

I also find that I can make a decent amount of batter and store it in the fridge for a couple days to cook up when I want a fresh snack or a quick meal. Which, of course, brings us to the crêpe recipe itself! I've experimented with a variety of recipes, and this one is my favorite. It's got just the right combination of eggs and flour so as to be easily workable in the pan (I think crêpe makers are for wimps) but it isn't overwhelmingly eggy.


1 cup of flour
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp melted butter


If you're in a hurry, you can mix everything up in a blender, but if you like to be old-school like me, then here's what I do: Mix the flour and eggs together and then add the milk a little bit at a time--whisking as you pour (this helps avoid lumps in the batter).Then, add the salt, sugar, and melted butter. Whisk it all together again, and voilà: simple as bonjour. :)


To cook them, just pour about 1/4 cup of batter into a frying pan (either spray with cooking spray or melt some butter in it to coat the bottom) which you've pre-heated on the stove at a medium heat. Cook them for about 2-ish minutes on each side; I find that spraying the spatula with cooking spray helps flip them easier. Next, don't forget to be creative and enjoy!

Smoothie Time

There's nothing I love more on a bright spring or summer morning than a fresh, fruity smoothie! They are super simple, very healthy, and positively delicious! Not to mention it's a great way to get rid of slightly mushy fruit... The only thing you absolutely have to have is a blender--the rest is ultimately up to you! But here is the run-down on one of my favorite combinations:

1 lemon
6-7 strawberries
5 fresh mint leaves
1 cup of milk
3 heaping spoonfuls of  vanilla yogurt
crushed ice

Juice the lemon into the blender and add the strawberries (just cut the tops off), mint leaves, milk, and yogurt. Blend everything together until smooth. Next, add the ice--more if you like it thick, less if you prefer a thinner smoothie. Just be aware that if you add too much, it will dilute the other flavors! Use the "ice crush" button on your blender until it's relatively smooth and ready to be consumed! I find that the lemon and strawberries are a great, tangy combination, and the mint leaves are a perfect counter balance for the acidity (although they are optional).

You can also use frozen strawberries (and cut back on the ice) or substitute the yogurt with ice cream if you're feeling decadent.

Creamy Tomato Basil

Whenever I go to an Italian restaurant, I struggle to pick a sauce; I love the creaminess of alfredo, but I have a hard time resigning the marinara! Fed up with my own indecision, I've come across the perfect at-home solution: marinara meets cream (with a side of basil). It's super easy and tastes amazing!

Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion (diced)
1 or 2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic (pressed or minced)
1 16 oz can tomato sauce
1 tbsp dried basil (or 3 tbsp fresh chopped)
3/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1/4 or 1/2 cup cream (heavy, whipping, half/half...etc.)
optional: 1/2 red bell pepper (diced)

Simply sauté the onions and garlic (and the peppers, if you so desire) in the butter until the onions are soft. Next, add the can of tomato sauce and the herbs, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir it until the sauce starts to bubble, then add the cream (1/2 cup if you like it creamier, 1/4 cup if you're trying to rationalize watching your figure). Once again, stir until the sauce starts to bubble--et voilà! You're now staring at the best sauce ever. Pour over pasta, eat, and say good-bye to indecision!

Spicy Lime Chili

I had a few friends over for dinner the other night, so I decided to break out one of my all-time favorites! This  chili is fantastic, because it's easy to adapt to a variety of tastes, you can make it as all-natural or as canned as you want, it can be super meaty or completely vegan, and no matter what you do to dress it up, it's always easy!

This time around, I opted for the meaty version and chose a middle ground in terms of canned vs. all natural:

2 cans of black beans

2 cans of pinto beans

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 can of Rotel Mexican tomatoes (with lime juice and cilantro)

1lb (can easily be reduced) lean ground beef

2 limes

1/2 large onion

1/2 yellow bell pepper (can do the whole thing if you prefer; can use any color, though green will change the taste)

Things are open to change and interpretation regarding the seasonings, so we'll take them on separately! You can either get a packet of taco seasoning and a packet of ranch dressing mix, or you can do it the fun way (which I prefer) and make your own! I use this recipe for the taco seasoning: 

3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 Tablespoons Cumin
2 Tablespoons Paprika
1 1/2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you like it really spicy, add more--reduce or omit if your tolerance is low)

As you may have guessed, this makes A LOT, so you'll only need about 3 tablespoons from this mix (more or less, depending on taste). The nice thing is that you can mix it all up and then have it on hand for tacos or whatever else! As for the ranch mix substitute, I actually eyeball the quantities of the following spices:

Onion powder (about a tablespoon)

Garlic powder (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)

Dill (1-2 teaspoons)

A couple squirts of prepared ranch dressing

And now, the moment you've been waiting for--instructions! I usually start by frying up the beef and adding the 3 tbsp from the taco seasoning. Next, add all of the canned items--drain and rinse the beans before adding, but keep the juice from the tomatoes. Next, add in your "ranch dressing" ingredients; be careful with the dill--I usually add one teaspoon and then taste it to see if I need to add more.  Once all of that is simmering nicely, dice the onion and bell pepper and sauté them in a little butter until the onions are translucent. Add them to the chili, and cover the pot, allowing it to simmer on medium low for about 15 minutes, stirring it a couple of times. 

Next, juice the limes and add the juice to the chili. If you're using pre-squeezed lime juice, I'd add about 2-3 tablespoons (more, if you like it really lime-y!). Let the whole thing simmer for another 10 minutes, and it will be ready to serve!

To complement all of the flavors, I like to add a little chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, grated cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. You can also serve it as is or include some tasty tortilla chips/strips! (Easily serves 6-7 people)

Sweet Veggie Pasta

So you want to know what I did with all of that nicely conserved asparagus? Well, one of the things was to throw it together with some peppers in this awesome pasta dish--it took me all of fifteen minutes and it tasted amazing! With this sort of recipe, I'm not very good with exact quantities, but here's a list of what I used:

Asparagus
Red, orange, yellow bell pepper
Green onion
Butter
Olive oil
Grated parmesan
Basil
Salt/pepper
Pasta

After chopping the asparagus into  2 inch long pieces, I got them sauteing in a little butter. While they were cooking, I diced the peppers (I only used a small portion from each color) and added them as well as some salt, pepper, and a generous sprinkling of basil. Just before my pasta was done cooking, I chopped and added the green onion (do it in this order so as to get the right cook time for all the veggies).

Once the pasta was done and drained, I added it to the pan and poured a bit of olive oil over the whole thing--enough to moisten the pasta--and then added about 1/3 cup of parmesan. I stirred it up for maybe a minute and then it was ready to go! Sauteing in butter really brought out the sweetness of the peppers and asparagus, and the green onion was a subtle complement to the whole thing! Positively delicious!

Quick Tip #1--Asparagus

Oh, asparagus. I discovered it in Switzerland a few years ago, and I've been in love with those beautiful green stems ever since. It tastes amazing, it's fresh and healthy, and it makes any dish look classy. But the first time I bought a bunch of asparagus, I was devastated to find that half of the tops went sickeningly mushy within a few days. It was then I realized that buying asparagus was akin to a commitment--I had to be willing to use it for every meal until it was gone!

A couple of weeks ago, asparagus went MAJORLY on sale at a nearby grocery store--97 cents a pound! I was so excited that I bought two bunches without considering how I was possibly going to consume it. When I got home and became reacquainted with reason, I went online to see if there was a way to make asparagus last longer in the fridge. I discovered this site http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-asparagus.html which explains that if you wrap asparagus in a damp cloth (I used a paper towel), then it will last longer. I quickly wrapped my bunches (and put them back in the original sack), stuck them in the fridge, and proceeded to break one of my own cardinal rules by forgetting about them for a week!

When I finally remembered that I'd bought all of that asparagus, I approached the refrigerator with a heavy heart...certain that I would find a disintegrating mess in my produce drawer. But when I pulled out the asparagus and unwrapped the heads, they looked brand new! It was like magic! And you know what's more? It's now been two weeks and my asparagus is still going strong--paper towels are my new best friend!

The Beginning

Well, here I go--launching myself into the massive community of food-bloggers! I don't really have anything to post right now (since I'll put up recipes as I make them), but please feel free to explore the other pages on the blog and stay tuned for upcoming deliciousness!