I have not abandoned my site. I promise. I had no idea how nerve wracking buying a house would be. I've been obsessed with getting everything together and that has left me exhausted and feeling none to creative in the recipe department. I'm now starting to pack up my house for the big move and that means my kitchen too! Yikes! If you could see all the gadgets I have ... oy!
Last weekend I took a break from all this house stuff and we celebrated fall in all its glory at the Montclair Farmer's Market Harvest Festival. There was all kinds of great stuff for kids, cooking demos by myself and a local caterer named Nicky Mesiah, even a petting zoo. Here are the recipes I shared with the folks who stopped by.
Curried Harvest Fruit & Nut Salad
4 – 6 servings
Salad
1cup barley
2 red skinned apples
2 pears
1 cup dried apricots, diced
2 stalks celery
2 cups or 1 small bunch red or green grapes
½ cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts
Dressing
¾ cup low fat yogurt
1 Tbs. Honey
1 tsp. Curry powder
Pinch of salt
Water or apple juice to thin if necessary
1) Rinse barley and pick out any foreign material.
2) Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add barley and cook till al dente – approx. 20 minutes.
3) Drain barley and rinse with cold water – set aside to drain.
4) Chop apples, pears, apricots & celery to ¼ inch dice. Slice grapes in half and combine with the diced fruit. Sprinkle with lemon juice to retain color.
5) Combine fruit, veggies and barley in large bowl.
6) Combine yogurt, honey, curry powder & salt in separate bowl and wisk till smooth. Thin with water or juice if too thick.
7) Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
** Serve as a side dish or add chunks of grilled chicken or firm tofu for a complete main course salad
Roasted Veggie Pizzas
1 Red Pepper
1 Eggplant
1 Zucchini
10 Mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
½ cup tomato sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 recipe pizza dough
Roasted Veggies
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
1) Dice all the veggies to about a ¼ inch size cube except the garlic. You can leave the garlic whole if you only want a light garlic flavor, otherwise mince it up and toss with the other vegetables.
2) Toss all the veggies in a bowl with the olive oil and pepper. You will add the salt after the vegetables have been roasted.
3) Place veggies on a sheet pan and roast for about 30-40 minutes until they are fragrant and turning a nice golden brown.
4) Remove them from the oven and set aside.
Pizza Dough
Raise oven heat to 400 degrees
Makes 2 - 12 inch pizzas
¼ cup warm water
1 package of dry yeast
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup warm water
1) Mix the yeast and the ¼ cup warm water and let sit
2) Measure most of the flour into the bowl along with the salt
3) Add the yeast mixture, oil and 1 cup of warm water and stir till it starts to hold together.
4) Knead until the dough comes together into a soft ball, adding flour to keep it from being sticky. You may not use all the remaining flour.
5) Plop the dough into a bowl and spray with a little oil to keep it from sticking as it rises to double its size
6) Once it's risen, divide the dough into two balls. If you're only making one pizza then put one ball into a freezer bag & into the freezer to use later. To use the frozen dough, allow it to defrost in the refrigerator before rolling it out.
7) Press dough into any shape you want and place on a baking sheet.
8) Top with the sauce, veggies & cheeses and bake till the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.
This is a great recipe to make with kids. There's a science, math and reading lesson all in one. Plus I've never met a kid who didn't like pizza. If your kids like different toppings on their pizzas let them each roll out a smaller portion of dough and make their own signature pizza.
White Bean Soup with Garlic & Rosemary
please see "Batten Down The Hatches"
All photos this post by Eric Seftel
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