Summer Salads

     Most of Arnauld's side of the family lives on Long Island.  At the start of the year they decided to try and gather each month for a family dinner.  All of the gatherings have been on Long Island so far but today everyone will be meeting at Arnauld's mom's house for the first Connecticut party.  The party just so happens to coincide with one of the hottest days of the year!  Eating anything heavy on a day like today is not possible in my opinion.  I volunteered to make a few side dishes so when planning I just had light and summery on my mind.

Summer Pea, Watermelon, and Farro Salad
Recipe from Cooking Light (August 2011)

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked farro or wheat berries
1 cup fresh green peas
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup seedless watermelon, cubed
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup fresh Romano cheese, shaved

Method
1. Place farro in a saucepan and cover with water, about 2 inches above farro.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. Add green peas to the pan with the farro and cook for 2 more minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. In a large bowl, combine the farro with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.  Add the watermelon and parsley.  Gently mix to combine these ingredients.  Add the Romano cheese to top the salad off.

3 Bean Quinoa Salad
Recipe from Whole Foods

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked quinoa
Salt and Pepper
1/2 lb cooked green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cup edamame, unshelled
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup Italian dressing
1 tsp dried tarragon

Method
1. Rinse the quinoa under cold water and drain.  Bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil in a small pot.  Add the quinoi and a pinch of salt.  Reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer until the quinoa is tender and all of the water has been absorbed.  Uncover and allow to cool.
2. Put quinoa, green beans, edamame, kidney beans, dressing, tarragon, salt, and pepper in a large bowl  Toss well and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies

    It's amazing how you can walk into a room of complete strangers and by the time you walk out, it's as if you've been friends forever, bonded by common experience, drive, and passion.  That's what happened to me this week.  I was able to reconnect with a group of people I met in May at Part One of a seminar to prepare to be a presenter for Responsive Classroom training.  You may recall that I blogged about going on my first business trip.  Well I just returned home from Phase Two and what an amazing experience it was!  It was fun to have a chance talk to teachers from all over the country about kids, teaching, and life.  On top of all of that, we learned how to be presenters and had a lot of chances to practice and receive feedback.  It's not every day you can get a group of teachers together, during summer vacation, to work really hard and then in the end be sad to leave.  I learned so much and feel so fortunate to have had such a rewarding experience.
     Somehow along the week, I mentioned my blog to the group.  They were thought it was a real hoot to hear about how I make Arnauld wait for me to take a ton of pictures of our meals before we eat and how before this I never really enjoyed cooking at all.  I promised that when I got home, I would dedicate a post to them.  So despite returning to a house that felt more like a sauna, I cranked on the oven and mixed up a batch of Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies.  I wish I could share them with all of my new friends, but rest assured Presenters, I'll taste enough for all of us!  Thanks for an awesome week and all of your support along the way.  Good luck as you take all of your new learning back to your schools.  The people you get to present to will all be very lucky to have learned from some of the best!

Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies

These don't look that bad in the pan.  However, I don't think they'll ever come out of the pan resembling anything close to a brownie.  Better luck next time!

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup peanut butter

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1. Mix the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla together.
2. Beat in one egg at a time.
3. Mix in the flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt. 
4. In a microwave safe bowl, soften the Nutella and peanut butter together until it is a runny consistency.  Stir this mixture into the brownie mix.
5. Pour mix into a greased 9x 13 glass baking dish.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.
7.  Allow to cool before attempting to cut.

Confession
    I'd love to be able to say these were the best brownies ever.  During the week, someone asked me about cooking disasters I have experienced and I couldn't really think of any.  Well, I take that back.  I haven't been home in a week, so when I went to the fridge to grab the eggs, we were all out.  I had already melted the butter and mixed in the sugar.  I quickly weighed my options, run out to the store or toss the mix and try again some other time.  Then I remembered I had some egg substitute in the pantry from a time I made vegan muffins for a friend.  I thought you just scooped the mix in and that was the same as using an egg-so that's what I did.  Upon closer inspection of the box, I realized the directions said to mix the egg substitute with water before adding it to the mix.  No wonder my brownies came out bubbling and boiling like chocolate soup.  If you follow the directions above, you will probably have better luck than me!

Farewell Muffins

    My sister and her family are heading back to North Carolina today.  Boo!  Luckily I have Fridays off this summer so I get to spend the morning with them before they embark on the ten hour drive home.  Arnauld and I also just booked a flight to go visit them in August, so that is something to look forward to! 
   I wanted to send them off with a healthy yet delicious breakfast so I woke up early to make chocolate chip banana muffins.  This recipe comes my Cooking Light book, although I've adapted the recipe a bit.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Ingredients
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 egg white
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
cooking spray


Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, and vegetable oil together.
2. Beat in the bananas and milk.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
4. Combine the flour mixture with the banana mixture until it is well blended and then stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and spoon in equal amounts of the muffin mix.
6. Bake for 22 minutes.  Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Parmesan Scallops

    Whoever said teachers have it easy because they don't have to work summers had it all wrong!  My schedule has been pretty full with summer school, tutoring, curriculum writing, and trying to fit in visits with family and friends along the way.  Arnauld's work schedule has also been jam packed.  We have hardly seen each other in days.  When Arnauld announced that he would be getting out of work earlier tonight (he got home just before 9:00), I began thinking of what I could make for dinner.  I asked him if he had any ideas.  His usual response is, "whatever you want." Not helpful.  He surprised me this morning when he suggested something with scallops and Parmesan cheese.  That was all I needed to get going.  I found a recipe, threw in a few modifications, and dinner was served.

Parmesan Scallops

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 oz baby spinach
3/4 lb sea scallops
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Method
1. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and saute until the garlic is golden.
2. Add the spinach to the skillet and cook until the spinach wilts.  Remove from the skillet and place in a colander.
3. Season the scallops with basil and parsley.
4. Add another teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet and cook scallops until they are browned on both sides.
5. Stir in the diced tomatoes and let simmer for 3 minutes.
6. Stir in spinach and cheese.  Cook until the cheese melts.
7. Season with salt and pepper.

The Taste Test
   Arnauld said, "It was good."  I thought it was fresh and tasty.  I also liked it because it was easy and incorporated a lot of fresh ingredients.

Rosemary and Lemon Zucchini Bread

     I read a lot of food blogs these days.  I know I've said it before, but I love blogs!  It is so neat to get a glimpse into the lives of other people, through their posts and pictures.  I get a lot of my inspiration for my own cooking adventures from what I read.
     I recently found an app for my iPhone that makes managing all of my blogs so easy.  It's called Pulse.  You can use it to manage anything you read online, in one place. Using Pulse, I found this recipe for Rosemary Lemon Zucchini Bread from Simply Recipes.  I knew I had to try it because it made me think of my Grandma.  It is garden season and Gram has been working hard to keep her plants safe from woodchucks and sharing her bounty with the people she loves.  Just this week I was gifted the first yellow squash from her garden.  Nothing makes Gram happier than sharing her vegetables or a nickel tour of her land. 
     My Gram always grows zucchini in her garden and a favorite in my family is zucchini bread.  I'm not sure what's in it or how she makes it, but it is sweet and delicious.  Now the zucchini bread that I made today, I know will taste nothing like my grams.  Her zucchini bread never includes rosemary or lemon, but I wanted to give it a try.  I reluctantly shared some of the bread I made with my Grandma-reluctantly because once she tries it, there will surely be lectures for weeks to come about all of the things I did wrong, even though I wasn't trying to replicate her recipe!  No one can ever do it as good as Gram.  After I dropped the bread off, she did say that once her zucchinis are ready, we can make her recipe together.  I'll be taking notes!

Rosemary Lemon Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest
3 cups zucchini, grated (about 1 pound)

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, rosemary, and salt.  Set aside.
2. Beat the eggs and then beat in the sugar.  Next beat in the butter and olive oil.  Stir in the lemon zest and zucchini.
3. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, 1/3 of a cup at a time until everything is mixes well.
4. Divide the batter between two greased loaf pans (4x9).
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

The Taste Test
  This next statement may not be a selling point, but anyone who knows the source will dismiss this.  My brother asked if I used fish in the recipe.  This idea probably came because he associates the taste of rosemary with fish.  Silly boy.  My sister said, "this isn't Grandma's."  The rosemary added a savory quality to this sweet bread, which some people will enjoy.  I thought it was a nice change and would have been even tastier with a handful of walnuts thrown in the mix.  However, my family is partial to Grandma's recipe so next time that's what I will aim for.

Peanut Butter Pie

    We are really lucky that my sister does such a great job of sharing her time between North Carolina and Connecticut.  My whole family has been able to be a big part of Jax and Ace's lives, which is a blessing because they make everyone so happy.  Yesterday we had a great day together, visiting Captain's Cove and going on a pirate hunt.  Then in the evening we just sat around the fire pit making smores and enjoying being together.  Jax stared up at the night sky and asked my mom, "Mimi, how did the stars get to your house?  Did they drive?"  Ace was happy to roast marshmallows and laugh at the fire as he bounced from one person's knee to another. 
    We ended the evening with a dessert made by my mom, No Bake Peanut Butter Pie.  She has made this before and it is another great summer time dessert.

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 (14 oz) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 (16 oz) package of whipped topping, thawed
2 prepared graham cracker pie crusts
Chocolate Syrup


Method 
1. Beat the cream cheese andpeanut buttertogether until smooth.
2.Then beat in the peanut butter and milk until smooth.
3. Fold in the whipped topping.
4. Spoon into pie crusts.  Cover and freeze until firm.
5. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Better Than Take Out: Sesame Shrimp

    After vacation, it has been hard for me to get back into the making dinner routine.  Last night Arnauld made himself some eggs and I ate some yogurt.  I knew I had to kick myself out of this slump but didn't quite feel up for anything too complicated.  The answer?  Sesame Shrimp.  We had shrimp in the freezer so I thawed a couple handfuls and stirred together a few ingredients I had on hand.  The results tasted better than sesame shrimp you would get from a Chinese restaurant, without all of the extra goo.

Sesame Shrimp

Ingredients
1/2 lb raw shrimp
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp chili paste (our favorite brand is, Thai Kitchen)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dried ginger
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method
1. Mix honey, chili paste, soy sauce, and ginger in a medium bowl.  Stir in shrimp and let sit for a few minutes.
2. Toast the sesame seeds.
3. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp and any extra sauce.  Cook shrimp until they are pink all the way through.  Toss in any vegetables that you like.  I added sliced onion and fresh peas from my grandma's garden.
4. Sprinkle the shrimp with toasted sesame seeds.