Sweet Corn and Pepper Risotto with Chicken Skewers

       For Christmas, my aunt, a vegetarian, wanted a vegetarian dish to have instead of turkey.  That was the task I was given that day.  We decided on risotto even though I had never made made it before, but it turned out amazing!  Today it was 80 degrees out (yes, it's January) so while walking through the grocery I was drawn to summery things.  Things like sweet corn, bell peppers, and eggplant and what better way to combine them than in:

Sweet Corn and Pepper Risotto with Chicken Skewers:

6 servings

  Ingredients:

• 12 ounces dry arborio rice
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 8 cups chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth
• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 medium eggplant
• one jar canned bell peppers
• 1 bag frozen sweet corn
• 4 tablespoons half and half or cream
• 4 chicken breasts, cubed
• salt and pepper

  Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Once melted add rice and stir until each grain is completely coated.  This is important so that the risotto doesn't clump together.
2. Heat the broth until simmering in a separate sauce pan and add two ladles of it to the rice, stirring the rice constantly:
   
3. When all of the liquid is absorbed, add another ladle of broth, stirring constantly.  Repeat until all broth is used; the rice should now have the consistency of risotto:
   
4. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in another saute pan and peel and cube the eggplant.  Add the eggplant and cook for about 10 minutes, remove and place in a bowl:
   
5. Dice and saute the onion in the same pan you used for the eggplant and crush the garlic, remove and set aside in a small bowl:
   
6. Microwave corn just until warn and dice the bell peppers.
7. Place the chicken cubes on skewers:
   
8. Stir peppers, corn, onions and garlic, and eggplant into risotto
9. Salt, pepper, and place the skewers on a baking sheet in the oven at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes; until the chicken has cooked through:
   
10. Remove from oven and place over a bowl of risotto, enjoy!
    
    
    

Fun Fact: Pareidolia is the ability to see faces in random places.  My moms friend takes pictures of pareidolia so now we compete, I have found faces in the back of picture frames, electric outlets, coffee pots, and tonight (unintentionally) in my risotto:

Bursting with Lemon, Lemon Bars

       What a better way to use up delicious meyer lemons than in these delicious golden bars?  Lemon bars are a popular, relatively easy dessert that are popular for parties and snacks.  These ones are naturally a beautiful golden because of the meyer lemons and I chose to use high omega 3 eggs making the yolks golden.

Bursting with Lemon, Lemon Bars:

  Ingredients:

• Shortbread crust (I found a simple one online, just combining flour, sugar, and butter but substituted half the flour for ground pecans and almonds)
• 6 egg yolks
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (I used meyer lemons)
• 6 tablespoons butter

  Instructions:

1. Line a casserole pan with parchment paper, and press the shortbread into it
2. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown; about 20 minutes:
   
3. Remove from oven and while the crust cools, whisk together egg yolks, eggs, sugar, and lemon juice together:
   
4. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and pour egg mixture into the pan.  Whisk constantly until a thermometer reads 170:
   
5. Strain lemon curd over the crust and place back in the 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until curd starts to firm up:
   
6. Remove and let cool completely before cutting, enjoy!
   

Sweet Dumpling Squash Slices

       Me and my mom were at the local farmers yesterday to do some simple Thanksgiving shopping when we found a small peculiar type of squash.  My mom, being herself, just had to get and try them so she asked the lady there and we found out how to cook them, and it turns out they are amazing!  You could probably do this recipe with any small edible winter squash but the kind we found were called sweet dumplings, and if you ever see them at a store I would definitely try them:

Sweet Dumpling Squash Slices:

  Ingredients:

• about 2 pounds sweet dumpling or other winter squash
• olive oil
• salt 
• pepper

  Instructions:

1. Cut each round squash into quarters like you would and apple (if using large winter squash then cut into one inch cubes)
2. Scoop seeds out of each piece and cut in half:
   
3. Coat a cookie sheet with olive oil and coat each piece of squash in oil.  Then place on the cookie sheet cut side up:
   
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until very soft and fork tender, 40-50 minutes:
   
5. Remove and let cool, enjoy!
   

          

Starbucks Style Pumpkin Loaf and Latte

       Here in SoCal, yesterday felt like the first real day of winter.  It was "cold" (60 degrees), breezy, and overcast, rain threatening to fall. What better was to spend a day like that after school than at Starbucks reading and studying?  That's when I fell in love with Starbucks pumpkin bread, seriously, it is amazing! But the $2.50 for one slice is a major set back.  So the second I got home, I googled it and found an entire blog of recreations of restaurant food (you should check it out at: www.CopyKat.com)!  But then again, what goes better with Starbucks pumpkin bread than a pumpkin latte, which is equally amazing?  I found many recipes for it, and all were different do I ended up just creating my own:

Starbucks Style Pumpkin Loaf and Latte:
  Ingredients:
   Bread:

•  1 1/2 cups flour 
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons allspice 
• 1 teaspoon clove
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup salted/toasted pumpkin seeds 

   Latte:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 cups coffee (I used 2 decaf, 2 regular)
• cloves (optional)

  Instructions:

1. For pumpkin bread, whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl:
   
2. In a separate bowl, whisk all wet ingredients:
   
   *tip: if you Pour the oil into a measuring cup and then the pumpkin then the pumpkin won't stick and you won't have to use a spatula to scrape the sides
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk only enough to combine, pour into a greased loaf pan and Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds:
   
   
4. Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for an hour to an hour and 10 minutes
5. While the bread bakes, combine milk, half and half, pumpkin, sugar and spices into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer:
   
6. Add coffee and stir constantly while simmering for about 10 minutes to let it reduce:
   
7. Remove bread form oven:
   
8. Let it cool completely before cutting and strain and pour Latte into a mug with cloves, enjoy!

Basil Pesto and Lemon Tilapia on Homemade Pasta

       We have three large basil plants in the herb garden and its getting to the time where they might frost so what better way to use a bunch of fresh basil than basil pesto?  And of course, what do you put pesto on aside from pasta, or better yet, made from scratch pasta!  This is a perfect light dinner, that can be a very simple week night dinner if you use dry pasta instead of making your own:

Basil Pesto and Lemon Tilapia on Homemade Pasta

  Ingredients:

   Pasta

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• water

   Pesto

• 4-5 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons lemon olive oil (or 1 tablespoon lemon juice and one tablespoon olive oil)
• 1-1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

   Tilapia 

•  2 tilapia fillets
• salt and pepper
• lemon pepper
• butter
• one lemon
• basil pesto (recipe below)

  Instructions:

1. Pour flour onto a wooden board and make a well in the middle:
   
2. Crack eggs into the center of flour and whisk, eventually fold until dough forms, adding water until all the flour sticks but none of the dough leaves marks on your hands:
   
3. Run through you pasta machine to whatever shape you want, and set aside to dry a little:
   
4. For the pesto, place all the basil, nuts, lemon oil, and cheese in food processor.  Pulse five or six times to shred and combine everything
5. Drizzle in olive oil by a few tablespoons at a time and pulse between each.  Add salt and pepper to taste:
   
6. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butter a baking sheet and place tilapia on it. Sprinkle with salt, lemon pepper, pepper, and lemon juice.  Place a pat of butter on each and place in oven:
   
7. After about 5 minutes, brush tilapia with pesto and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the fish is opaque.  Top pasta with pesto and fish and enjoy!
   

Creamy Coconut Lentils and Fresh Spring Rolls

         Sorry its been so long since I've posted a recipe, I have been extremely busy since I started high school at Great Oak a few months ago.  So far freshman year is going pretty good, but I found the time one night to experiment and combine a bunch of recipes I found on Pinterest, and I ended up with a very warm, hearty dish perfect for a cool fall night. This is what I came up with:

Creamy Coconut Lentils and Fresh Spring Rolls:

 Ingredients:

   Lentils:

• 1 cup dry lentils
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 half head shredded cabbage
• 1 small acorn squash
• 1 1/2 cans coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons sliced basil

   Spring Rolls:

• 6 rice paper wrappers (I used circular)
• 1 bell pepper
• 1/2 cup dry sticky/sushi rice
• 12 basil leaves
• 2 carrots
• 2 cucumbers
• 12 slices pre cooked chicken breasts 
• sweet chili sauce

   Peanut Sauce:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce

  Instructions:

1. Place lentils in a pot and cover in water, let come to a boil, cover and cook for about 45 minutes or until lentils are soft:
   
2. In another pot, saute the shredded cabbage in olive oil with salt and pepper.  When cabbage softens, remove from pan and set aside. 
3. Cube the acorn squash and place in the same pan the cabbage was cooked in with more olive oil: 
   
4. Pour all coconut milk over squash and simmer for about 30 minutes until squash is soft:
   
5. Add cabbage and cooked lentils to the squash as wells as cayenne and any extra salt or pepper to taste, top with basil to serve:
   
6. While the squash and lentils are cooking, boil the rice according to package instructions and let it cool:
   
7. To build the spring rolls, shred carrots and cucumbers and slice bell pepper.  Fill a pie pan with water and soak one wrapper at a time according to package instructions:
   
8. Layer chicken, cucumber, carrot, rice, and sweet chili sauce on a rice paper wrapper and fold the top and bottom over the ends of the veggies and roll tightly over the filling:
   
9. To make the peanut sauce, simply whisk everything together and taste.  If its too salty, add more sesame oil, if its not salty enough, add more soy sauce:
   
10. Enjoy!
    

Blackberry Basil Iced Tea

       I happened to mention this recipe on a Facebook page while I was sharing the Basil Pesto and Chicken recipe and almost everyone commented about how good it sounded and requested that I make it, so here it is.  A simple technique is used to make this tea burst with flavor that will shock both you, and your friends:

Blackberry Basil Iced Tea:

  Indigents:

• Three cups of boiling water
• Three blackberry tea bags (or fruit flavor or your choosing)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons blackberry honey (regular will work)
• 4 lemon slices

  Instructions: 

1. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags and let steep for 7-9 minutes:
   
2. Pour about 3 tablespoons of tea into the bottom of four cups and place in the freezer for 45 minutes or until frozen
3. To the rest of the tea, add the honey and lemon juice
4. Take a large plastic cup and fill half way with ice.  Fill the rest of the way with tea, tear up 5 or 6 basil leaves, and add them.  Place a slightly smaller glass cup inside the edge of the plastic cup and press it firmly in:
   
5. Holding both ends of the cup, shake well to bruise and release the flavor of the basil
6. Pour over ice into one of the cups that you froze the tea in earlier and garnish with extra basil leaves and lemon.  Complete for the rest of the tea and enjoy!