Tag Archives: Garlic

Fire Roasted Baba Ghanouj

I was never the biggest fan of eggplant (other than eggplant parmesan). However this recipe will have you coming back for more. My boyfriend and I roast the eggplant, onions, and garlic right in the fire. It is absolutely amazing and super easy to throw into the food processor.

Fire Roasted Baba Ghanouj

3 medium eggplants ( have tried all the varieties)
2 medium yellow onions
1 garlic bulb (only will be using 3 cloves of garlic for final product)
1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt

Tools for the Job:

Food Processor

Fire Pit

Heat Protective Gloves

Tongs

Directions:

Wearing heat protective gloves, place the garlic bulb & onion (skin and all) in the fire coals. Allow to roast for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes have elapsed rotate the onions and garlic bulb. Add the entire eggplant in the fire coals. Allow the eggplant to roast for 10 minutes and rotate with tongs using heat protective gloves. Allow for the eggplant to cook another 10 minutes, then pull all the vegetables from the fire and place on a sheet pan to cool for at least 20-30 minutes. Remove the skin from the onions and toss into the food processor. Scoop out the eggplant meat and place it into the food processor. Lastly peel 2-3 cloves of garlic into the mix, salt to taste. Puree using the pulse function on the food processor. Enjoy the dip on pita chips, carrots or I like to add it to my tortillas.

Slowcooker Drunken Roasted Beef & Vegetables

Happy New Year! Welcome 2017!

Traditionally I make pork and sauerkraut today in honor of my husband’s family tradition to ring in the New Year. However; since we are a guest at a home where pork is not consumed I am preparing a beef roast instead.

I decided to throw in one of my husband’s favorite beers for good measure, hence the name drunken beef roast.

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds small gemstone potatoes, multicolor

1 pound baby carrots

3 stalks of celery, cut into 3 inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, quartered

2 cups beef stock, low sodium

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1, 12 ounce can Yuengling light

4 whole cloves garlic

1 package of dry low sodium onion soup mix

3 pounds bottom round beef roast, seared (fat trimmed off)

Tools for the job:

Slowcooker

Large sauté pan

1-2 Tablespoons Olive oil for searing

Prework: make sure to rinse and clean all the vegatables prior to using preparing as indicated above. Also, trim the fat off the beef & sear the meat until some caramelization appears on both sides in the sauté pan.

Directions:

1. Place the first 8 ingredients in the slowcooker. Arrange evenly and diversely.

2. Sprinkle with half of the onion soup mix. Set the prepared meat on top of the mixture. Sprinkle the meat with the remaining onion mix. Cover the dish with the slowcooker lid and let the ingredients merry for 8 hours on low.

Enjoy with some homemade bread!

Hot Pepper & Cheese Bread

One of my husband’s favorite foods is pizza. I love bread so this is the perfect marriage of the two. This a super quick recipe but very satisfying. I also love this recipe because I get to use the canned peppers we grew last year in the garden. See the link below for the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons yeast

1 ½ cups warm water

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup canned hot peppers in oil

1/3 cup chopped pepperoni

4 cloves of chopped garlic

1/2 cup yellow bell pepper chopped

1/2 cup black olives diced

1/4 cup green onion chopped

1 TB pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning

1/2 cup Asiago cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian blend reduced fat

1 tablespoon canolia oil ( I used the oil from the canned peppers)

Cornmeal for dusting

Optional marinara sauce for dipping

Directions:

1.In a small bowl place yeast in warm water and left proof for 5 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl mix AP flour, sugar, & salt.

3. Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture and mix with wooden spoon until combined. The dough will be sticky. Sprinkle pepperoni, peppers, olives, cheese, garlic, green onion, and pizza seasoning over top the dough and using hands fold the ingredients into the dough until incorporated.

4. Cover the dough in the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for one hour.

5. After one hour has elapsed place in refrigerator and allowed to continue to rise for one hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 450°. Dust pizza stone with cornmeal to prevent dough from sticking. Place dough on pizza stone in a rectangle form approximately 11 by 17 inches.

7. Brush dough with canolia oil. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes.

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire rack before slicing.

Enjoy !

The Harper’s Hot Peppers!

Well, finally, it is here….by popular demand…. tried and true the best hot pepper recipe out there! They go perfectly with homemade bread or any type of cracker. They also go very nicely on a white pizza or in a pizza roll. Whatever way you like them ! Watch out because they are addicting. I think my husband and I made 3 to 4 batches this year because we had oodles of hot peppers.

HOT PEPPERS

1/2 Bushel of hot pepper (we like a variety of banana and jalapeño)

4 CUPS Plus of Distilled White Vinegar

48 ounces Plus of Canola Oil (One whole bottle)

16 Whole Garlic Cloves

1 CUP Canning Salt (NON IODIZED)

Fresh Oregano, about 8 sprigs

Caution: Wear gloves!!!!!! Especially if you wear contacts (we learned the hard way….ouch!).

Directions:

1. Cut and core peppers to remove the seeds. You can use handy dandy Chile Twister (pepper seeder) for this which will save you a great deal of time.

You can then place your peppers in a food processor to chop into rings.

Place pepper rings in colander over night sprinkled heavily with canning salt (salt them every time you empty the food processor full of pepper rings into the colander). Let the peppers set in a colander overnight (16 to 24 hours is optimal). The peppers will reduce in size significantly. Not to mention the hot pepper smell will permeate throughout you entire home (you know, clean out your sinuses!).

2. After you have let the peppers set over night rinse with water to remove the salt and let them drain thoroughly.

3. In a quart size jar, place 2 cloves of garlic in the jar along with one sprig of oregano, you can put the whole sprig in, or you can tear the leaves off and put them in the jar. Pack the jars full of peppers from the colander, make sure you pack it tight! Put 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar into the jars and fill to the brim with canola oil. Pour it slow, the jars will be so packed with peppers that it will take a few seconds to make it to the bottom of the jar. Be sure to leave about a 1/2″ gap between the liquid and the top of the jar.

4. Freeze the jars immediately for fresh, crisp pepper rings right out of your freezer. You can also “can” them, however, the texture and quality of the pepper tends to be compromised. Think if it this way, it is like eating fresh versus canned green beans!

Enjoy!!!!

Cabbage and Whole Wheat Egg Noodles

Nothing says warm up the soul like a good dish of cabbage and noodles! There was an Orthodox Church near my mother’s place of employment that made homemade halushki a.k.a. cabbage and noodles and pierogies. I can still remember when my mom use to bring them home for us when my sister and I were growing up. This noodle dish is definitely a comfort food for me. Not to mention they pair well with pierogies. The bad news is halushki the church made was saturated in butter and high in calories! The good news, I found a way to enjoy the flavor without all the extra calories of butter. There is one secret ingredient and that is freshly Cracked Pepper!!!

Ingredients:
1 small head of cabbage (Rinsed & chopped)
6 oz of dry whole wheat egg noodles
2 small onions, chopped
Canola oil Spray
4 Large cloves of garlic, diced
Salt to taste
Up to 1 TB freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Heat a large skillet to medium high heat.

Spray heavily with Cooking spray.

Add onions and garlic to heated pan and sauté until the onions are translucent.

Sprinkle onions and garlic with salt and sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Don’t add all the pepper at one time. I like to add a little at a time.

Add the chopped cabbage.

Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle some additional black pepper. Cover and continue to stir every 5 minutes.

After 15 minutes have elapsed turn heat to low.

Add egg noodles to boiling water and cook according to package.

Add drained noodles to cabbage and season with pepper and salt one last time.

Enjoy! Hopefully with some Pierogies !

Pink Pepper Sauce

Pink Pepper Sauce with Zucchini and Bowtie Pasta

For the love of a fine restaurant we dine at for special occasions, I tweaked my mom’s recipe for our favorite pasta. Now we can have it in just 20 minutes anytime instead of driving 45 minutes to a hour for this spicy filling pasta. Plus this is great way to use your garden’s endless supply of Zucchini!

Ingredients:
1/2 box of whole wheat farfalle pasta
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 small onion diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 package of Alfredo dry mix
1 small or medium Zucchini
1 TB Olive Oil
1 can of stewed tomatoes (drained)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 tsp of hot red pepper flake
1 cup of Hot Sicilian pasta sauce
Parmesan Reggiano cheese to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package and and set aside. Start sauce when you go to start your water for the pasta and the sauce will be ready when your timer goes off for the pasta.

2. Heat large sauté pan to medium high heat and oil. Once oil is heated add minced garlic.

3. Once garlic lightly browned add onion and sauté until golden. Add pepper flake

4. Add chopped Zucchini and stewed tomatoes

5. Once vegetables are tender add heavy cream, Alfredo mix, salt and pepper and pasta sauce.

6. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.

7. Add pasta and enjoy.

Best served with shrimp, or grilled chicken and a slice of garlic toast!

Next… I just have to tackle their chocolate cake with mile high peanut butter frosting …

A Pinch of Luv

from scratch baking and cooking blog