When your neighbor gives you lemons…

Make Lemonade!!!

Since moving into the new house, we had been admiring our neighbor's lemon tree over the fence. This massive lemon tree was adorned with some of the largest lemons we had ever seen.  As luck would have it, we met her just before she had commenced tearing up her entire yard and starting from scratch, even the beautiful lemon tree! We were sad to see it go, but within the next hour, we had a hand-delivered bag of these beautiful lemons sitting on our counter.

Being that it’s 94 degrees out, I think it’s quite obvious where these gems are going… there’s nothing more refreshing than an ice cold glass of lemonade to cool you down!  To put together this simple thirst quencher:

• 4-6 lemons depending on size
• 1 cup white sugar
• 6 cups water, divided

1) Make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.  Let cool.
2) Firmly roll the lemons to release juice.  Cut in half and juice into pitcher.
3) In the pitcher, combine lemon juice, simple syrup, and remaining water. Stir. Adjust water to taste. Chill and serve over ice.  Throw in some sliced lemons for presentation.

Like I said... it's 94 degrees so no time for pics!

Grill Happy!

I’ve spent the last few days moving from a high-rise condo in the heart of the city to a house near the beach in Port Melbourne. I must say, I’m enjoying the change…

While I loved the luxury living in the city, it’s so nice to have fresh air, plants, a backyard… AND A GRILL!!! For our first night in, I took full advantage… I decided to do a spice rubbed pork tenderloin topped with a grilled peach salad and accompanied by a grilled vegetable salad and chipotle potato/parsnip mash. This dinner was obviously inspired by my recently acquired access to a grill but also by your blog comments and an attempt to use up the veggies in the fridge!

Spice rubs are perfect for pork that you are going to throw on the grill.  You can use whatever you find in your pantry and the combinations are endless.  There is no right or wrong when you're making a mixture according to your own preferences.  Some of my favorite spices to combine are cumin, oregano, any kind of pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard, chile powder, brown sugar, and the list goes on! Depending on the taste you are going for, create your own combination! You can also make enough rub to save for later uses.

I scoured the pantry and created a spice rub of roughly equal parts paprika, ground black pepper, onion powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne powder and salt. I then butterflied a pork tenderloin and generously rubbed with the combination of spices.  I grilled until slightly pink in the center as pork has a tendency to dry out if cooked too long, maybe five or so minutes on each side depending on the thickness of your loin.

Pork goes great with fruit so I decided to offset the peppery grilled pork with a sweet grilled peach salad.  I halved and grilled a couple of peaches.  When cooled, I sliced and combined with thinly sliced onions, chopped mint, chopped cilantro and a dressing of lime juice with a splash of sherry vinegar and a pinch of salt.

The combination made for a delicious, fresh and summery main dish.

After digging around the kitchen, I found an eggplant, a red pepper, an onion, and 2 banana peppers.  I sliced, seasoned, oiled, grilled and tossed these with some fresh greens and a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice. 

Thanks to your feedback from my previous blog, Chipotle Peppers... Take 2!, I finished this meal off with a smoky potato and parsnip mash.  Being that I only had a few potatoes to feed four, I added an equal amount of parsnips.  Another very easy recipe!  Peel and boil the potatoes and parsnips until they are very tender.  Combine with adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, the amount of sauce varies depending on the how much a kick you'd like!  Add cream or whole milk and season to taste.  I also slightly caramelized and finely chopped about a half of an onion to add a sweet bite to the potatoes and they turned out great!

I'm looking forward to many more dinners on the grill!

How many bruschetta variations can we come up with?

Italian bruschetta (pronounced "brusketta") is an extremely simple dish and with fresh bread and quality olive oil, you CANNOT go wrong.  The original recipe is defined as grilled bread rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt and pepper; however, nowadays you are more likely to see some variation of this recipe, usually involving tomatoes.  If I have fresh, ripe, tomatoes on hand, here's my "go-to" version:   

 

• 1 narrow Italian of French loaf of bread

• 1 clove of garlic, cut in half

• 5 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped

• 1 ½ tbsp EVOO, plus more for drizzling (optional)

• 2 ½ tsp balsamic vinegar

• Small handful of basil leaves, chopped

• S & P to taste


1) Cut ¾ inch slices of bread on a bias. Places slices directly on hot grill for 1-2 min on each side until lightly toasted.

2) Combine chopped tomatoes, EVOO, balsamic vinegar and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper. Taste… not enough salt? ADD MORE!

3) Rub toasts with cut side of garlic and top with tomato mixture.

4) If you love EVOO as much as I do, add a finishing drizzle to your bruschetta and eat immediately!

While this is a pretty basic version, there are unlimited variations of this versatile appetizer.  I made a hearty grilled eggplant and goat cheese bruschetta just recently that was both delicious and filling (sorry no pics)!  You can add all differents kind of veggies, herbs, cheeses, beans, and the list goes on! 

Throw a few variations onto a large platter and you have a perfect appetizer for entertaining.  Trust me, you won't hear any complaints!!

Now I need your help... does anyone have any unique variations on this classic recipe?   I promise to try out a few of the most original and appetizing and report back!

Simple Sides

Anyone that knows me knows how much I love veggies.  They are healthy, delicious, and very easy to cook (if they even need to be cooked at all)!

When making veggie side dishes, I like to keep it simple.  The vegetable should be the star of the dish.  Being that it's springtime here in Melbourne, asparagus is in season and quite abundant! 

It was Melbourne Cup Day and we had been out all day yesterday, so I didnt have a lot of time to put into dinner. I grabbed the asparagus that I had picked up at the market and few slices of  prosciutto from the deli to pull together this quick and easy side dish.

Take a few spears, wrap with a slice of prosciutto, and throw into a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  No need to add oil as you have the fat from the prosciutto. 

You could serve this dish as is but I decided to whisk a little lemon juice into some good quality olive oil and drizzle over the wraps before serving.  I also gave it a few turns of the peppermill as I tend to do...

Enjoy!

Aussie Brekkie

You won't find a Denny's anywhere around here!

A typical Australian breakfast, or 'brekkie' as they say here is quite different from the American version.  I LOVE the Aussie rendition.  Although these poached eggs on toasted ciabatta, roasted tomatoes, avocado, and baked beans will set you back about fifteen bucks as opposed to $4.95, it's worth every penny!  I feel much more satifisifed after this hearty and healthy breakfast than the greasy, budget bacon and eggs that you might find at a 24 hour joint!

Chipotle peppers... Take 2!

I wanted to make a healthy salad to go with a 'Southwestern' themed meal. I decided to throw in a chipotle pepper for an extra kick. Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are perfect as they have a rich smokiness to add another layer of flavor to the spice. They are actually smoked jalepeno peppers and the adobo sauce is a combination of pureed tomatoes, oil, vinegar, onion, garlic and spices.

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 lime
• large handful of fresh cilantro
• 1 chipotle pepper from can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce*

1) Halve cucumber lengthwise and scrape out seeds, slice into half-moons. Peel carrot, halve lengthwise, and slice. Halve onion and thinly slice. Toss cucumber, carrot, and onion together.
2) Juice and zest lime. Finely chop cilantro and chipotle chile smothered in adobo sauce. Combine cilantro, chile, and adobo sauce with lime juice and zest to make dressing.
3) Toss cucumber salad with dressing and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
* I love the brand La Morena

I definitely underestimated the power of the chipotle. The salad was delicious but a bit TOO spicy, especially when paired with a spicy fish dish. When the sweat was beading up on my nose, I decided that I had all that I could take and would throw the leftovers in the fridge.

Around lunchtime the next day, I took a little nibble and realized the flavors had married beautifully. I decided to throw in some quinoa and canned tuna to tone the salad down and make a healthy lunch.

I like to boil then steam quinoa as I think it gives it a nice fluffiness. Always make sure to rinse the quinoa first. A few run throughs in a fine sieve will do the trick. Boil 1 cup quinoa for 12 or so minutes and drain into a fine sieve. Steam over a pot of boiling water, covered, for about 4 minutes and this should give you a nice, fluffy, dry texture. Throw in some tuna, torn cilantro, salt and pepper to taste and.... Voila!

Perfect healthy lunch, snack, or side dish! Any other ideas on how I could have fixed this fiery salad?
Do you have any good cooking stories about turning a mishap around?