Monday, and Chocolate Almond Croissants

Not a bad Monday. Great day at work! Productive meeting, with intelligent participants, and good dialog. A rejuvenating hike at dusk with our two dogs. And Chocolate Almond Croissants...which fills the house with the scent of all things buttery, chocolatey, and wonderful! These little treats are only a humble approximation of the authentic French ones that you'll find at a patisserie, but they do the trick if you want to feel like you're someplace outside of your own house, and they smell wonderful! Making it is as simple as toast, Or two words: "crescent rolls".



1. Fill crescent rolls with chocolate of some type (I like semi-sweet chocolate morsels, or Nutella)
2. Brush rolls with egg wash (1 egg white + a dash of water, lightly beaten), then sprinkle on slivered almonds
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 11 to 13 minutes.

Decorate with melted chocolate, if you wish. And get a good whiff of it before you eat. Enjoy!

Rainy afternoon date!

I took my husband out on a date yesterday afternoon. No, you didn't read that wrong. I took him. We had grand plans to go eat lunch at an authentic french patisserie I had heard about last week and was eager to try, only to find when we got there that the place was "closed for vacation". Hmm. With the imminent threat of a thunderstorm, the luck of the Irish came to the rescue and we found a neat little pub just around the corner from the patisserie. Much to their credit, they were open! That was perfect, and looked exactly like Ryan's type of place. Look how happy he is.

We ordered yummy cold beverages, and split their signature appetizer shrimp. The shrimp was happiness on a plate, prepared simmered in a broth of portobello mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice, and parsley, served with enough crusty sourdough bread to mop up all the broth. I immediately thought of ways to replicate my own version of it, and I will be making it soon. It was a nice lunch. We made silly faces at each other across the table, some of which have been captured for posterity on the camera!


From there, we moseyed on to a thrift store, with it still pouring rain, to browse for much-needed storage solutions for our little house. Finding nothing, I made my way across to the jewelry aisle (while Ryan patiently occupied himself) and I found this funky necklace for $2. How cute is this, to dress up a plain t-shirt and jeans?


It is shaping up to be a really good weekend. Wishing you all the same joy, memories, and happy relationships.

The brave little gerbera daisy

I got a potted plant this week. So, yes, I am experimenting with yet another house plant. This is a sad paradox, since I am still blocking out memories of the house plant disaster of 2006. (I had purchased an orchid plant at an auction in my workplace, and it did not bloom like the guy swore it would. In fact, it died a quick and quite an unnatural death. Despite my efforts to revive it, even with sound advice from horticultural experts on the internet, I succumbed to the idea that I should probably never have a house plant, ever again.)

But here’s the thing. This new plant is a gorgeous gerbera daisy – that my husband brought to me at work, for no occasion whatsoever, but to simply make me feel appreciated and loved, so HA! – and it came with detailed instructions on how to care for it. And, it has survived three whole days! I even watered it twice. It has two flowers, one already in bloom. The other one was just a bud a couple of days ago and looks like it is slowly blooming. Time will tell.

Pears in Port Wine

Sometimes, at our house, dinner is pretty simple. Tonight we had grilled cheese sandwiches, to use up the last of a mediocre smoked Gouda that neither one of us liked! But when dinner is not so hep...we tend to make up for it with a truly scrumptious dessert. So tonight, for dessert, I made Pears in Port Wine, and served it with honey-orange ricotta. Here is the recipe:



Pears in Port Wine

Serves 2

2 whole pears
2 cups port wine
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1/4” piece fresh ginger root
2/3 cup white sugar, or to taste

Add port, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves, and ginger to a deep saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and stir until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove the skin from the pears using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, but leave the stems on. Add the pears to the simmering sauce, and let simmer covered for about 30 minutes, turning them over once halfway through. When done, remove the pears from the pan, discard spice chunks from the sauce, and leave the sauce on the heat until it reduces further, about 15 minutes, and reaches a thick, syrupy consistency.

Serve pears warm or at room temperature, with warmed port wine sauce. (Optional – mix 1 tbsp honey into ½ cup ricotta or mascarpone cheese, and add 1 tsp orange zest. This is a perfect accompaniment to the pears!) Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Enjoy!

A good day, and Rolled Lasagne

It was a good day. The evening was particularly nice. I finally watched "Remember Me", on the recommendation of a friend, and liked it. The movie was accompanied by a good pasta dinner...Rolled Lasagne, a new thing that I enjoyed creating this evening. This savory dish is heartier than a steak, incredibly flavorful, and has a balance of textures. And, you can use whatever meat or veggies you have on hand! Here it is, followed by the recipe...



You'll need:

8 Lasagne sheets – cooked al dente, or to your taste
1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
1 cup julienned bell pepper
½ cup shredded carrots
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup shredded fresh parmesan cheese, plus more
2 cups good pasta sauce
2 sprigs fresh basil leaves, plus more
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, plus more
salt to taste

Saute red onion, and garlic in a bit of olive oil, over medium heat, until onions are translucent. Add carrots, bell pepper, and zucchini, and cook until slightly softened, or about 5 minutes. You want the veggies to be crunchy when the dish comes together. Stir in half the basil, a bit of salt, black pepper, then remove from heat, and set aside covered.

Lay the cooked lasagna sheets on a flat surface. Spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese along the length of each sheet, then add a bit of parmesan, followed by a thin layer of the veggie filling. Roll up each sheet, end to end, starting from one short side. Warm the pasta sauce, and pour a little bit on each plate, before placing the rolls on top. Garnish with fresh basil, freshly cracked black pepper, and some parmesan sprinkled on top! Serve immediately.

Zucchini from my garden

I harvested the second 12" zucchini of the summer, and have thoroughly enjoyed making various zucchini entrees. The latest of which is this Deconstructed Zucchini Parmesan that I had fun throwing together last night. They turned out so well, I will definitely make them again. And not just to hear Ryan call them "Zucchini Volcanoes" again :)



Here is the recipe: Deconstructed Zucchini Parmesan (or Zucchini Volcanoes!)

You will need:
1 cup breadcrumbs
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 large zucchini, or 2 medium, sliced ¼ inch thick
½ cup skim milk
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup pasta sauce
¼ cup olive oil or enough to coat the bottom of a large frying pan

Mix breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, set aside. Heat olive oil in frying pan. Coat zucchini slices in milk, then breadcrumb mixture, and fry on each side about 2 minutes. Remove to a paper towel. Once all the zucchini are fried, remove any fried bits from the pan, and heat up the pasta sauce in the same pan. Assembling – start with one layer of fried zucchini, top with a little bit of both cheeses, then a tablespoon of sauce. Repeat with a second layer of zucchini, more cheese, and more sauce. Then place third layer of zucchini over it, with a tablespoon of sauce, then cheese on top, followed by - if you wish - freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

half-boiled egg

I had a half-boiled egg for breakfast this morning. It reminded me of when I was five years old or so, and my mother made that for my breakfast every morning before school. And now, here I am twenty years later, eating a half-boiled egg, remembering all the things my mother did for me, and really enjoying it.