beautiful food

” Breakfast Of Champions # 6 ” Farmers Omelette

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Today I finally found time again to do a proper breakfast,
after a week of peppermint tea and bananas.
During the week I get up at 3.30am and after a usual sleep time
of 3 to 4 hours, my desire to cook a full meal is usually subdued a bit   😦
Not today ! So here we go:
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” Farmers Omelette ”
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Ingredients:

Eggs,                                whole, whisked, seasoned with salt and cayenne
Grape tomatoes,            whole
Asparagus,                      blanched
Carrots,                            blanched
Onion,                              julienned
Garlic,                              paste
Potatoes,                         blanched
Chorizo,                          thinly sliced
Chives,                             sliced  (fresh or freeze dried)
Butter                                (substitute olive oil if desired)
Parmesan,                       grated
Salt,                                   to taste
Cayenne Pepper ,           to taste

Method :

Sautee potatoes in butter (oil) until starting to change color,
add onion and saute until starting to brown.
Add garlic, saute until translucent, add all other vegetables
and seasoning and saute until heated through.
add eggs, cover tightly, lower heat and cook slowly until eggs are set.
to plate, invert onto serving dish, sprinkle generously with chives.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Three Minute “Gourmet” Meal

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I got home today totally exhausted,
deprived of sleep last night and just too bummed out
to be enthusiastic about being in the kitchen and on
my feet any more time then absolutely necessary.
The solution: My favorite three minute gourmet meal  🙂

” Octopus, mussels and romaine salad “
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The key to the success of this dish is to use the best
ingredients available. Please note that while there are a lot of
crappy canned and frozen food‘s out there, there are also some
pretty amazing items available which make it a snap to produce
a wonderful, high quality meal on the fly when, for whatever reason,
time restraints and / or other restrictions prevent you from using the
ideal fresh product.

Ingredient‘s :

Romaine lettuce,          sliced
Octopus,                         canned, drained
Mussels,                         canned, drained
Grape tomatoes,           halved
Radishes,                       sliced
Onions,                          sliced
Basil,                               freeze dried  (Litehouse)
Oregano                         freeze dried  (Litehouse)
Fuji apple dressing      bottled  (Litehouse)
Sangria dressing          bottled  (Litehouse)
Salt                                   to taste
Cayenne pepper            to taste
Granulated garlic         to taste

Method :

Mix all ingredients carefully so as not to break up the delicate mussels.
Serve with jalapeno / cheese sour dough bread.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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” Pepper Jack Stuffed Pierogies, Chicharrones, Corn, Radish & Peas “

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Last nights dinner took me to the polish corner of my kitchen,
where I found a modern version of a dish steeped highly in tradition   🙂

“ Pierogi “
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Ingredients :

Vegetables and Garnish :

  • kernel corn, blanched
  • green peas, frozen
  • sliced radish
  • sliced chives
  • diced onions
  • chicharrones (fried pork rind)
  • garlic paste to taste
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • butter to saute

Method :

Saute onion in butter until translucent.
Stir into the mashed potatoes, add grated cheese and yoghurt,
season with salt and cayenne pepper, mix well.To make the dough, beat together the eggs and sour cream until smooth.
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder; stir into the sour cream mixture,
mix well and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until firm and smooth.
Divide the dough in half, then roll out one half to 1/8 inch thickness.
Cut into 3 inch rounds using a cutter or drinking glass.Place a small spoonful of the mashed potato filling into the center of each round.
Moisten the edges with water, fold over, and press together with a fork to seal.
Repeat procedure with the remaining dough and filling.Cook in boiling saltwater until dough is done, about 4 to 5 minutes,
depending on the thickest part of the dough. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain.Saute pierogi in butter until starting to brown, add onions, and garlic, saute until
translucent, add corn, peas, radish and salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, plate pierogies, spoon vegetables on top and sprinkle with chicharrones and chives.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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” Whole Sauteed Fish & Guacamole “

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Last nights great dinner :

Whole sauteed fish & guacamole

Freshly caught fish, seasoned with salt, pepper and lime juice,
lightly dusted with a mix of AP flour and corn starch,
slowly sauteed in olive oil, some onions and garlic added towards the end.
I had some grape tomatoes laying around, so in the guacamole they went.
Three medium sized fish were just the right portion for Bella and I   🙂

Life is Good !
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” Grilled Pork Chops & Grilled Veggies “

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I just love my little stove top grill. No-fuss grilling for one person.
It does not give me the deep grillmarks a larger, hotter grill would give me,
but the texture and taste are all their own   🙂
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Marinade all items with the pictured spices according to your own preferences   🙂

Bon Appetit !    Life is Good !
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Tomato Bisque

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This is one of those soups where I have to make enough for two day’s,
because one meal of it’s goodness is just not enough to satisfy the quarterly
craving that  is nagging me    🙂

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Ingredients :

Tomatoes,       15 lbs
Onions,              1 lb
Celery,                 1 lb
Garlic,                 8 oz coarsely chopped
Rice,                    4 oz uncooked
Olive oil,             1/2 cup
Heavy cream,     2 cup
Chicken stock    1 gall
Oregano,             1 bdl
Basil,                    1 bdl
Cayenne,             to taste
Salt,                      to tase

Method :

Add all Ingredients except cream to a large stock pot and simmer for about 2,5 hours.
Blend until VERY smooth. Add cream and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Adjust seasoning and serve.

Note :
Bisques were originally thickened with rice.
This made the bisque smoother and silkier than using flour or other thickeners.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good ! 

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” Beer Braised Turkey Leg’s “

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Last night’s dinner brought out the very best one can get from turkey legs’s:
Tender, juicy, loaded with flavor, accompanied by a wonderful herbed rice.
In my opinion, turkey doesn’t get much better than that  🙂
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Turkey :

Ingredients :

Turkey legs,                bone in
Morcilla,                     diced
Beer,                             a bottle or two of your favorite
Bell peppers,              diced
Onions,                       diced
Garlic,                          paste
Scallions,                    sliced
Oregano                      “Litehouse” freeze dried
Basil                             “Litehouse” freeze dried
Chives                          “Litehouse” freeze dried
Maggi
Grape tomatoes
Tomato sauce            canned
Oil,                               to sautee

Method :

Saute legs in oil until golden, remove and reserve.
Sautee peppers, remove, reserve.
Sautee onions and garlic until translucent, add Morcilla, tomato sauce
and beer, return leg’s and half the peppers to the sauce.
Add salt and pepper and simmer until legs are tender. Shortly before the
end of the cooking process, carefully remove legs into another pot.
Strain sauce onto legs, add remaining peppers, tomatoes and chives.
Bring back to simmer for one more minute and serve.

Rice :

Ingredients :

Jasmin Rice,             soaked for two hours, washed repeatedly
Butter                          melted
Herbs                         fresh or freeze dried
Salt & cayenne pepper to taste

Method :

Cook rice in boiling plain water for approximately 4 minute, or until tender but not mushy (Polo Method)
Strain rice and with a fork mix in the butter, seasoning and herb’s.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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” Smörgåsbord “

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Where else than in my house can you find a Smörgåsbord for one ?
Smörgåsbord is a scandinavian buffet, usually consisting of seafood,
meats, starches, preserves, bread’s; sometimes using both hot and cold dishes,
sometimes, for a more simple version, cold dishes only.
Here is the version I enjoyed for dinner last night :
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Smaklig Måltid !    Bon Appetit !

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” Spaghetti With Beef, Veggies & Brie “

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Today’s lunch combined, amongst other goodies, two of my favorite food items :
Pasta and brie cheese  🙂
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Ingredients :

Spaghetti,                 cooked al dente, some cooking water reserved
Beef,                           finely julienned
Bell peppers,            finely julienned
Onion,                       finely julienned
Tomatoes,                 thin wedges
Garlic,                        paste
Brie cheese,              sliced
Butter,                        substitute with olive oil if prefered
Salt & cayenne pepper to taste

Method :

Saute beef in very hot fat for a few seconds, remove and reserve.
Saute veggies and garlic until garlic is opaque but still light in color.
Add pasta, half of the brie and a bit of the cooking water, salt and pepper.
Mix well until the cheese is melted.

Plate and garnish with more brie and some herbs.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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” Fish Dumpling & Shrimp Ball Soup With Poached Egg “

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What the heck !? 
Soup with fish dumplings, shrimp ball’s, shrimp, vegetables, chili and poached egg ?
Well, it might sound’s a bit much but it is absolutely delicious, the flavors and textures
go very well together to form a wonderful, multi-facetted dish.
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Ingredients:

Shrimp,                           pre cooked, peeled, deveined, half of them tail removed
White fish,                     such as haddock, tilapia, cod
Peas,                                frozen
Corn,                               frozen
Won ton wrappers,
Red chili,                       sliced
Scallion,                        sliced
Cilantro,                        coarsely chopped
Whole egg                     for poaching
Egg white                      for fish dumplings and shrimp balls
Fish stock                     substitute with chicken stock if preferred
Ketchup
Maggi
Salt, cayenne pepper, lemon juice to taste

Method :

Dumplings :
Chop the fish coarsely, add a bit of egg white, salt, cayenne pepper, mix.
Add half a teaspoon to a wrapper, moisten the edges with water.
Top with another wrapper, flatten and cut with a crinkle wheel cutter or a raviolini stamp.

Shrimp balls :
Chop the tailless shrimp to a fine paste. Add sriracha, salt and a bit of ketchup,
Mix and form into small ball’s.

Cook fish dumplings and schrimp balls in salted water until floating,
transfer to salted ice water.

Egg :
Poach in lightly salted water for  3 1/2 minutes, transfer to salted ice water.

Soup :

Bring stock to simmer, add corn and simmer for two minutes.
season with salt, sriracha soy sauce and maggi seasoning.
Add fish dumplings and shrimp balls’, shrimp balls, chilis, green peas and poached egg.
When heated through, plate and sprinkle with scallion and cilantro

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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