Fourth of July Pie

Summer brings with it certain flavors that you cannot find at any other time of the year: homegrown tomatoes, fresh melons, peaches, and of course, strawberries. When I was a kid I used to go berry picking and end up eating more berries than I brought home. I'm sure if I went berry picking today it would be the same. Strawberries and watermelon are what summer tastes like to me, and this pie is a good way to showcase the beautiful red color of the strawberries for Independence Day.

I brought this pie with me for the Fourth of July celebration at my husband's Aunt Mary's house. They celebrate there every year, but I have always been allowed to bring my leftovers home. Not this year. I was actually booed by the guests when I tried to walk out with the remains of the pie.

Red White and Blue Pie
(makes 2 pies)

Crust:
1 1/2 c gingersnap crumbs
1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp sugar
12 tbsp butter

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, divide between two pie pans. Press into the bottom and up the sides of the pans with the flat end of a measuring cup. Bake empty crusts at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Filling:
(this is so bad for you, but I justify it by saying I'm only going to make this pie once a year.)

3 quarts fresh strawberries
2 tubs of Marzetti's strawberry glaze (I am working on finding a recipe for homemade glaze, so if you have one, please let me know!)
1 cup heavy cream
sugar to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pint of fresh blueberries

Wash the strawberries and blueberries. Trim the stems, leaves, and bad spots from the strawberries. Keep any strawberries with no bad spots separate and cut these in half. Use these nice strawberries on the top of the pie.
Whip the cream until stiff. Add vanilla and sugar to taste. Don't make the cream too sweet or the pie can be overwhelmingly sweet.

Divide the imperfect berries into the two crusts. Arrange the more perfect berries on top of the cut up ones. Pour the glaze on top of the strawberries. Use a spoon or spatula to make sure the glaze covers all of the berries. Pour half of the whipped cream on top of the strawberries and then scatter the blueberries on top of the whipped cream.

Seven Layer Dip for Liz

Well, as I am sure you can tell from the dates on this blog, I have not been posting. Please forgive me, gentle reader. I was feeling really strange last month and thought it was just stress, so I took some time to relax and cut out anything extra, such as this blog. It didn't help, so I ended up going to the doctor and found out I have hyperthyroidism - basically, my body's metabolism is going WAY too fast. Thankfully the doctor put me on some medicine and I am starting to feel better now. One upside to the condition (kidding here, of course) is that I can eat whatever I want and still lose weight!

My dear friend Liz sent me a request for a recipe I used to bring to potlucks occassionally - Seven Layer Dip... or as my Mom used to call it "Bean Plate." Which sounds awful, but is a pretty accurate and concise description of the dish.

Seven Layer Dip (Bean Plate)

1 can refried beans
1 small container sour cream
1 can salsa
shredded lettuce
2 cups (or more) shredded cheese
1 chopped tomato
2 or 3 green onions, chopped
One bag of tortilla chips

Layer all of the ingredients, starting with the refried beans and ending with the onions in a oblong cake pan or any other pan or plate you might like. Serve with tortilla chips.

Variation: leave off the lettuce and add guacamole... or add taco meat, or whatever you like on tacos - make it 10 layer dip if you like!

Lasagna

Me and my brother Izaak watching our new brother Gabriel in his cradle

There are certain food memories that really stick in my mind from when I was very small… a neighborhood kid giving me a Nestle Crunch candy bar when I was about two years old and not allowed to eat sweets… dragging my spoon through cream of mushroom soup and trying to get the next bite before the soup was able to cover the bottom of the bowl again… sharing the wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey with my uncle Grant (he got the biggest part, and I was so upset I didn’t get my wish that he gave me the bigger part!)

One of these memories was the lasagna that one of my Mom’s friends brought when my brother Gabriel was born. I was about six years old, and I don’t think I had ever had lasagna before. It was so good that this is the touchstone of lasagna I still compare all lasagnas too, especially all vegetarian lasagnas – because this one had no meat in it… and the woman who made it told us we could use tofu (yes, TOFU) for the filling. The unexpected spices in the sauce and the filling are what really make this lasagna stand apart and above all other lasagnas in my mind. Cloves and bay leaf in the sauce bring out the flavor of the tomatoes, and the nutmeg in the filling makes the cheese and spinach pop.



I think of Gabe every time I make this lasagna. He has a family of his own now, complete with his own Gabriel, Jr.





Lasagna

Cook 1 lb lasagna pasta.
Grate 8 oz. mozzerella cheese.

Sauce:
Saute a small onion with garlic. Add a quart of tomatoes and a small can of tomato paste. Season with 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 bay leaf, 2 whole cloves, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, and a sprinkle of sugar. Cook until bubbly

Filling:
Mix thoroughly 1 lb. ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, or tofu, 2 beaten eggs, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp pepper. Cook and drain one 9 oz, pkg of chopped spinach. Add this to the tofu mixture.

In a rectangular baking pan, layer ingredients in this order:

1/3 of the sauce
1/2 of the pasta
All of the filling
1/3 of the sauce
1/2 of the mozzarella
1/2 of the pasta
1/3 of the sauce
1/2 of the mozzarella
Parmasan cheese

Cover loosely with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. (I usually end up baking it longer. I also take off the foil at about 30 minutes so the cheese can get a little brown on top.

This is good at the first serving, but even better as leftovers on the next day.

Migas

I never heard of Migas until I made my recent trip to Austin. My brother's girlfriend Elizabeth ordered them at the Magnolia Cafe, and informed me that they are on the menu at most restaurants there.

Migas are eggs with whatever you like scrambled in - and then you add tortilla chips to the scramble as well. There is something about corn tortillas (chips or otherwise) and eggs that just goes so well together!

This morning I made my first Migas, and here is the recipe, although your imagination is the limit.

Migas
2 eggs
1/4 small onion, diced
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 c shredded cheddar
3 tbsp chopped roasted green chiles
handful of tortilla chips
1 pat of butter

Melt the butter in a pan, add all above ingredients, scramble, then eat.

Pancakes on Sunday

I made a batch of pancakes this morning - and I started thinking about pancakes... I love them... if they are done right. And the funny thing is, this is one of very few things that I don't make from scratch. Mainly because I haven't found a recipe I like enough, and because the mixes make good pancakes.

So, now you all know me for the hypocrite I am. I extoll the greatness of home cooked food, and yet I use pancake mix. I should hang my head in shame.

But, my pancakes are better than the way they tell you to make them on the box.

The trick is to buy a mix that has you add eggs to the mix, and also to add more milk than they tell you to... the batter should be relatively thin, or you end up with thick, chewy pancakes that taste like pan-caca. So keep adding milk until the mixture runs off the ladle and easily spreads itself into a pancake when it hits the pan.

You can do add ins as well... Today I did 1/2 a mashed banana and a 1/2 cp of chopped pecans. Another one of my favorites is chopped cooked bacon. Or apples and cinnamon. Or the traditional blueberries. The best way to make blueberry pancakes is to use frozen blueberries and add them AFTER you have already poured the batter into the pan, so you can spread them out evenly. And if you just want ultimate decadence in a pancake, add chocolate chips and serve it with whipped cream or peanut butter.

An Omelet from Austin

While I was in Austin a week ago we ate at a little place called The Magnolia Cafe, where their slogan is "Open 24 hours a day 8 days a week." Awesome place. Had one of the best omelets I have ever had, filled with pico de gallo, jack cheese, and avocados. Soooo good.

So, here is my best recreation of this fantastic omelet:

Scramble two or three eggs with a tablespoon of milk. Heat a small pan over medium-high heat. Melt a pat of butter in the pan, then pour in the eggs. Move the pan and eggs around over the heat until almost cooked through. Add pico, chopped avocado, and cheese, then flip half of the eggs over to cover the mixture. Cook for about 30 seconds more, then turn out onto a plate. Enjoy.

So, the question still remains - how do you make pico de gallo? And for some of you, what is pico de gallo?

Pico de gallo is a fresh salsa made from tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and jalapenos. I can eat it by the spoonful (or tortilla chip.)

Pico de Gallo
5 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
3-5 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice
salt to taste.

Since the size is different with tomatoes and onions, try to get twice as much tomato as onion in your bowl. The above measurements are only a guideline.

Mix all ingrendients in a bowl, let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving. Once you have added the lemon juice and salt the tomatoes will start to break down a little bit. Serve with tortilla chips, or in any way you would serve salsa.

As a side note - I make a big batch of this whenever I feel a cold coming on... The heat from the jalapeno and the vitamin c from the onion and tomato burn the cold right out of my system. However, you end up with some pretty terrible onion breath as a side effect.

My Favorite Breakfast Tacos

My dear friend Liz and I used to eat these almost every weekend. Usually we would serve them with Liz’s red chile on top (a red chili pepper based sauce – the recipe is below.) Since I am a nursing mom, and my baby doesn’t appreciate it when I eat super hot food, I just use a couple of drops of Tabasco on top instead. I heartily endorse the red chile, though! It’s good also as an enchildada sauce if you tone it down with some tomato sauce, too.

Anna and Liz’s Breakfast tacos
(makes 4 tacos, enough for two party girls the morning after a night of clubbing in Vegas)

1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, sliced thin
4 eggs
4 corn tortillas
1/3-1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Liz’s red chile (recipe below)


Fry the onion in butter until almost burnt over medium heat. Cook your eggs over hard (pop the yolk and let it cook, then flip it over and cook the other side.) Heat corn tortillas directly on the burner if you have a gas stove or a glass topped electric stove. If you have an older electric with the coils, use a pan or you’ll make a huge mess. Top each tortilla with an egg, some onions, cheese, and chile.


Liz’s Red Chile
1 bag dried red chilies (in the Mexican food section of the grocery store)
Water
Garlic, oregano, salt to taste.


Pull the stems off the dried chilies. Shake out the seeds and remove as much membrane as possible. Rehydrate the chilies in enough water to cover them by simmering on the stove, or let soak overnight. Put the rehydrated chilies in the blender, blend with the water from rehydrating until smooth. Add the spices and salt to taste. Pour mixture in a saucepan and simmer over low/medium low heat until reduced to desired thickness. Taste, and correct seasoning. Add tomato sauce to cut the heat if desired.