Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

This is what you get!

October 7, 2012 by Mary Frances 6 Comments

I received this photo via email yesterday from my 24-year old son who is in graduate school.

Doesn’t this just look scrumptious?

This is what you get when you raise your kids on great homemade food made with love. They want, of course, to keep eating great food, sharing the whole experience and recreating the love part. So when you make and share love-filled food, it all comes back to you tenfold.

So the backstory, which I found out today, is; he saw this recipe somewhere and thought it would be great, so he shared it with his girlfriend some months ago. She is there for the weekend, kept the recipe in mind and surprised him with this dish when he came home from Russian class on Friday morning. Sweet!

So I don’t have the complete recipe, but here are the broad stokes. Combine a half of an avocado, (minus the pit of course) one raw egg and grated provolone cheese as you see in the picture. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes, depending on how done you like your eggs. Maybe 10 or 12 minutes is enough if you like your yolks runny, as I do. Zach said that both of these eggs that you’re looking at are really well done, although you might think otherwise from the picture.

He said it was so creamy and delicious, just yummy. And it’s unusual to bake an avocado!

Graduation time!

June 9, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

Dean of the Music department at The City College of New York.

Dean of the Music Department – he looks a little like Mel Brooks!

Our youngest son graduated from college last week and we’re so proud, with summa cum laude and numerous other awards, he’s heading off to Yale in August for a PhD in Eastern European History. At his graduation, of course the various Deans of the different Humanities got up to speak and the Dean of the Music Department was a real character. (check out his cap!) He’s been in that position for forty years! He stated that music was the universal language of love.

Well I say that food is the universal language of LOVE. What better way to let someone know that you love them and to show your love than through cooking, serving and sharing really delicious and healthy food?

So get on with it! Start cooking! Serve the food! Share the LOVE!

Vegetarian pasta with walnuts and spinach on a white plate.

Zach’s vegetarian dish

More easy vegetables for Joan

November 11, 2011 by Mary Frances 7 Comments

My friend Joannie asked for more easy vegetable recipes, so here you go!

BUTTERY SAUTEED GREEN BEANS
Serves 3 – 4

3/4 lb. green beans
3 tbs. water
Butter
Salt
Pepper

Green beans ready to cook

Trim ends of beans and wash thoroughly. Heat 3 TBS. water in a skillet on high heat. Throw in beans and then top with 4 large pats of unsalted butter. SEE PHOTO. Now let sit them a little to brown and then toss over the high heat. You want the beans to get a little brown yet still stay crisp fresh. So toss to your liking – taste one. The butter will start to brown and almost taste sweet. Finish with salt and pepper and serve with all the juices. Total time should be 10 -15 minutes. These will be gone before you know it! Just as good as French fries – really!

First course or a main meatless meal

October 29, 2011 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

Let’s bridge Greece and Italy – or let’s just use up things in my refrigerator that need using! This is fantastic and could be used as a great first course or a main meatless meal.

BUCATINI WITH EGGPLANT, FRESH TOMATOES, SPINACH AND FETA
Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a first course

1/4 cup olive oil
5 large garlic cloves – peeled and thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 medium eggplant, cut in quarters lengthwise and then sliced 1/4” thick
1.5 lbs. fresh plum tomatoes – about 7, cored and cut into quarters lengthwise and then sliced into 1/4” slices
1/2 bunch or 4 oz. fresh tender spinach leaves, (or baby spinach) stems removed, washed and air-dried
2 oz. Greek feta cheese, cut in 1/4 cubes
1 lb. dried bucatini No 6 pasta or spaghetti or fettucini
Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated
Chiffonade of basil to garnish

Prepare the eggplant and salt layers of it in a mesh colander to draw out and drain the bitterness. Use fine sea salt. Let sit while you prepare everything else, the longer the better, but do this for at least 20 minutes.

Prepare the tomatoes and place in a separate large bowl and salt it as well with sea salt, toss with a spatula and let sit. This will intensify the tomato flavor.

Warm the olive oil and sauté the sliced garlic on very low heat for 10 – 15 minutes. Do not let it brown.

Start a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.

Cut cheese and slice the basil leaves.

Take paper towels and squeeze and dry the eggplant and add to the skillet with the garlic and olive oil. Raise heat to medium and sauté until the eggplant is fork

tender. When the skillet becomes dry, drain the tomatoes in the same mesh colander and add their juices to the skillet.

Cook the pasta al dente and drain, saving some pasta water, just in case you need a little moisture.

In a large bowl you used for the tomatoes, layer 1/3 pasta, 1/3 fresh tomatoes, 1/3 eggplant mixture, 1/3 spinach, feta cheese and grate some pecorino on each layer. Continue until all is used up, pour in any extra tomato juice and toss and combine. The heat from the pasta and eggplant will warm the tomatoes, wilt the spinach and melt the feta. Garnish with more pecorino and the chiffonade of basil.

I hope you LOVE it!

cut salted eggplant

Chopped and salted tomatoes in a yellow bowl.

chopped salted tomatoes

Finished dish before basil garnish

Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

This is what you get!

Graduation time!

More easy vegetables for Joan

First course or a main meatless meal

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