Category Archives: Recipes

Chard & Beans served with Sausage

Grilling tonight?  Try this Swiss Chard and Bean dish by itself , or served with grilled bread or sausage!

Sausage with Beans and Chard

SWISS CHARD is a power packed vegetable loaded with vitamins & minerals.  Looking for a great way to increase your calcium intake without drinking milk?   Try including Swiss Chard in your weekly diet!  Milk is a common way to ensure adequate calcium. However, swiss chard is a good substitute. One cup of chard has about 35% of the calcium (and only 35 calories) as one cup of 2% milk. Other nutrients include Vitamin K and A, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Zinc.
Chard is a relative of beets and spinach. It has a slightly bitter and salty flavor that becomes stronger as the leaves mature. Avoid brown or wilted leaves or leaves with small holes. To preserve freshness, store unused chard in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Grilled Sausage with Beans and Chard

  Serves 4-6.  Cooking time 25 min.’s

Ingredients
1 pound Chard each leaf cut into 4 pieces.
1/3 c. Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves peeled
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
4-6 cups Boiled Cannellini Beans
Salt
1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Sliced toasted or grilled Ciabatta Bread or sliced baguette .

Directions:  To remove bitterness from leaves, fill a pan with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add 1 Tbsp salt and cut chard leaves. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and empty contents of pan into a colander. Allow water to drain from chard for 1 minute. In a frying pan on medium heat add olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes, allow to saute` for 3 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and Add  the Chard and with 2 forks work Chard into the oil for 1 minute. Return pan to  heat and allow to cook for 3 minutes.
Add beans to  chard in frying pan.  Add 1 tsp salt and nutmeg, allow to continue to cook together for 3 minutes.

Best when served on a grilled piece of bread and topped off with extra virgin olive oil.  Absolutely delicious when served with sausage on the side.

Pomegranate Health Benefits

Pomegranate Seeds NutritionThe pomegranate fruit is obtained from a tree  that is originally native to the Southwest Asia and is cultivated since centuries together. Pomegranate is widely cultivated throughout the Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, East Indies, Malaysia, tropical Africa and southeast Asia. Later on, it was also introduced to the US and Latin America. The fruit is typically available from November to February (in the northern hemisphere), while in southern hemisphere, it seasons from March to May. There are more than 750 species that are observed and cultivated all over the world for various purposes from eating to forming pomegranate juice.  The name pomegranate literally means “the apple with many seeds”. The number of seeds in a single fruit varies from 300-1000.

Pomegranate tree can live up to many years, which is an advantage for the pomegranate growers. This way, it enhances the outdoor decoration of the house with additional fruits provided. The fruit of pomegranate is ruby colored with many seeds that are both juicy and citrus in flavor. Pomegranate seeds nutrition facts are just numerous and therefore, pomegranate seeds are used for many purposes from ancient times.

Health Benefits of Pomegranate Seeds
Often called as super fruit, the invaluable pomegranate seeds are loaded with numerous antioxidant properties that are said to be three times higher than the green tea. As we know, antioxidants are very important to control the free radicals from the body that can cause several troubles to the body. Antioxidants also maintain and repair the damaged body cells.  Pomegranate is high in vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin E , fiber, potassium, iron and calcium.

This ‘magic fruit’ is a bliss for the heart health, as regular intake of pomegranate seeds or pomegranate juice promotes:
Cardio health and reduces risk of strokes and heart attacks.
Contributes to proper thinning of the blood, reduce blood pressure levels, increase blood flow towards heart.                 Maintains good cholesterol levels (so that HDL cholesterol is elevated) and reduces arterial plaques.
Reduces symptoms of:
Anemia (add 1 tsp of cinnamon & honey to 1 cup of 100 % Pomegranate Juice)
Arthritis
Osteoporosis
Skin allergies
Skin disorders
Urinary tract infections
Wheezing linked to asthma
Sore throats
Tapeworms
Digestive disorders
Blood impurities
Anemia
Diabetes
Read on for health benefits of pomegranate juice.

Researchers are carefully observing the effects of pomegranate juice and prostate cancer as well as skin cancer. There are numerous products that are used by the pomegranate seeds including: pomegranate seed oil , pomegranate dietary supplements, pomegranate extracts and pomegranate concentrated juice.

Due to the polyphenols (anti oxidant) within this wonderful fruit it’s nutrition promotes anti inflammatory effects which strengthens the immune system, wound repair and reduces skin wrinkling making it’s derivites the most sought after when addressing skin remedies.

Eat, Drink and Enjoy!

RECIPE

Pomegranate Apple Salad

Red seeds from a Pomegranate
1 Apple diced (remove core)
1/4 c. Feta Cheese crumbled (optional)
Lettuce Leaves: Endive, Rucula  (Arugula), Spinach, Green Leaf Lettuce. Tear into bite size.
Dressing
1/3 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese grated

Wash Pomegranate, Apple and Lettuce leaves. Over a salad bowl cut Pomegranate into quarter pieces, invert each piece so that the skin is push inward and the seeds com outward. Seeds will easily come out. Make sure to remove white pith that the seeds are attached to, discard pith. Cut apple in half, remove and discard seeds. Cut apple into chunks place into bowl. Add feta cheese and lettuce into salad to salad bowl.
Toss well so that all ingredients are incorporated.

Place all Dressing ingredients into a bottle or bowl, cover tightly, shake ingredients so that they are well combined. Pour dressing onto salad 5-10 minutes before serving.

Lamb

Excellent recipe for the grill or stove top. May use ingredients on all cuts of lamb.

Serves 6

4 lbs Lamb
2 Tbsp Mint
2 Tbsp Rosemary
2 Garlic Cloves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp soy sauce

Create dry rub for lamb by placing fresh mint, rosemary and garlic all together on a cutting board, with a mezzaluna (kitchen tool) rock blade back and forth until all ingredients have been finely shredded . (May use dry herbs as well, no shredding needed, just mince garlic.) Place herbs, salt and drizzle soy sauce onto lamb. Using your hands rub ingredients into lamb. Set aside and allow to rest for 1 hour.

Follow searing methods for all cuts of lamb if using stove top. For smaller pieces of lamb cooking time will be reduced for grill smaller cuts can stay on grill for about 8 minutes per side. For stove top, after braising allow to cook cover for about 7 minutes.

Choose method of cooking Leg of Lamb:

Grill
Start the grill. When grill reaches temperature 400 F (180 C), place lamb onto grill reduce temperature to 350 F (160 C) and allow to grill for 15 minutes, turn lamb and allow to cook for another 15 minutes on the other side. Remove lamb from grill and place into a pan, cover tightly with foil allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
For Charcoal Grill: When coals are hot (80% gray), place lamb onto upper rack and cover with kettle top. Allow lamb to cook 20 minutes per side, until golden, resting time in pan off the fire should be 15 minutes.

Stove Top
Need to sear lamb creating a fine crust on the outside of meat and sealing in the juices of the meat.
Turn stove on to medium-high heat; place an iron skillet onto stove burner and add 2 Tbsp olive oil to iron skillet, allowing oil to heat up for 1 minute. Place lamb into hot pan and allow to braise in pan for 2-3 minutes, searing  is complete when meat lifts from the pan easily with a fork. If meat is sticking to pan, allow for it to cook 1 minute longer in skillet.
Turn meat and repeat process on the other side for 2-3 minutes.
Add 1/2 -3/4 cups Marsala Secco (dry)to meat in pan, reduce cooking temperature to medium low, cover pan allow lamb to simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat, allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Tuna Steak

Season Tuna with Salt, Pepper, Minced Garlic,

Excellent dish that leaves your palate satisfied. May be broken up and placed into a pasta dish or serve on a bed of rucula and green salad dressed in vinaigrette.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 3 or 4 ounce Tuna Steak
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp Red Pepper or Cracked Black Pepper
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 Lemon (Lemon Zest of whole lemon. Then cut lemon into half.)
  • 2 cups Arugula

    Arugula Salda and Tuna Steak

Heat skillet on medium high heat for about 1 minute. Meanwhile, combine salt, pepper, minced garlic and lemon zest; rub into tuna on both sides. Add olive oil to hot skillet, then add Tuna. Saute` tuna in skillet for 2 minutes per side, squeeze the juice of lemon halves onto tuna while cooking in skillet. Turn off flame and serve tuna on arugula salad, or salad of choice.

Sigari Marocchini (Moroccan Cigars)

Warm oven to 350 F or 170 C.
1 medium onion diced
1 pound or 500 grams of hamburger meat
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ginger
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley

Sigari marocchini di pasta fillo

Finally chop a medium size onion.  Place pan on medium low heat for saute, add oil and onion to pan, when onion is translucent add meat stir with wooden spoon breaking pieces of meat until it is brown. 

Sigari marocchini di pasta fillo

Add cinnamon, pepper and ginger to meat. In a separate bowl, whisk 2 eggs  until slightly beaten.  Incorporate the egg into the meat and seasonings until the egg is cooked, about 4 minutes of stirring.  

Sigari marocchini di pasta fillo

Remove the pan from the stove and allow the meat to cool down.  Meanwhile, finally chop the parsley and add it to the meat stirring it. 

To prepare the “Cigars” cut the Fillo dough into 3 rectangles of similar size.  Brush each rectangular dough with melted butter.  Place one heaping tablespoon of meat onto each rectangular Fillo about 1/2 inch from the edge of the dough. Sigari marocchini di pasta fillo

Fold the length of dough inward and begin to roll each “cigar”, brushing with the melted butter.  Place each “cigar” onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Bake the Moroccan Cigars in the oven on the middle rack  for approximately 35-45 minutes, until golden on all sides.