Author Archives: Georgina

Portabello & Leek Carbonara

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Portobello and Leek Carbonara

serves 4-6

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The before. It was so delicious I forgot to even take an after picture!

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped (My picture doesn’t really show the kind of bacon I believe the recipe is calling for, but where I live I have to make due with what I can find)

2 leeks, trimmed, cleaned and patted dry

12 ounces portobello mushrooms, quartered

1 clove of garlic-minced

1 pound whole wheat linguine

2 large eggs

3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

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Steps to Deliciousness:

  • Bring water for pasta to a boil.
  • Heat a large skillet oven medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until fat is rendered and bacon is crispy – about 8-10 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to drain. Reduce heat  on the pan to low.
  • Add in leeks and garlic with a pinch of salt and saute for about 2 minutes then toss mushrooms on top. Stir everything together to coat, then let cook until ingredients are soft – about 5 minutes more. At this time, throw the pasta in the water to cook – it is really important that the pasta is hot when you complete the mixing step that follows. While the pasta is cooking, mix eggs and cheese together in a large bowl. The mixture will be  very thick.
  • As soon as pasta is finished (reserve 1/2-3/4 cup liquid) and drain pasta then immediately throw into the skillet with the leeks and mushrooms. Toss until everything is combined. With a large spoon in one hand, add the egg mixture right on top and immediately begin stirring the pasta together. I stirred for about 2 minutes or so. At this time if desired, add the pasta water to the skillet to make things a bit more creamy and saucy. Toss in bacon. Serve immediately with extra cheese!
  • We were so excited to try it, I forgot to take an after picture. 🙂
  • This dish would go great with a rich bodied chardonnay, yumm yummmm yummmmm!

I made this for Jake and was a little hesitant on how he would feel about it- obviously he would love the bacon but leeks and portobellos?!?! yikes- anyway I was shocked when he said it was one of the best things he’d ever tasted!!! Honestly he loved it- he said the flavors complimented each other so well and were deliciously complex. I obviously couldn’t be happier that I am turning my guy into a little foodie yet! 🙂

Are any of you more of the foodie/ complex palate/ food obsessed in your relationship? How have you gotten you’re significant other to branch out and try new flavors? Please share your stories with me !!

Enjoy!

xoxo

-G

 

This recipe was almost 100% taken from Jessica’s blog “How Sweet It Is”- I’ve got to hand it to her- ahhhhmazing dish. Check out her blog and the original post here.

Vegan Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili

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Vegan Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili

makes 6 hearty bowls of chili

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Ingredients:

one 29 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
one 6 oz can tomato paste
32 oz vegetable stock
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup dry quinoa
salt and pepper to taste
avocado, cilantro for garnish  (optional)

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Then What To Do:

Heat oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium low heat. Add onions and cook until soft and they start to turn brown (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic, and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Then add the following: tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the beans, stock, and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper . Cook for about 5 minutes and add the quinoa. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes – 30 minutes(Mine took closer to the 3o minute mark that the 15), stirring frequently, until quinoa and potatoes are cooked. The chili will have also thickened- if it has become too thick for your tastes you can add a bit of water. Your’e done! Now, top with avocado and/or chopped cilantro & try not to eat it all! 🙂

*I really like hot foods! (hot as is spicy) so I added a dried chili pepper to this as well. I just kind of crushed/chopped it up and added it the same time as the beans, stock etc…Hope you enjoy!

xoxo

-G

Mediterranean Cauliflower ‘Stew’ with Cous Cous

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Mediterranean Cauliflower Stew

(pretty much Vegan)

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Ingredients 
1 32 oz carton vegetable stock
1 cup couscous
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 sprigs each mint and parsley
1 shallot, chopped
2 to 4 large garlic cloves (to taste)
1 cup canned chickpeas
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and cut in half (I used cured back olives)
1 6 oz container plain Greek yogurt

Directions
1. Boil the entire carton of vegetable stock in a pot. Measure 1 cup couscous in a bowl and add 1 1/2 cups of stock. Cover for ten minutes. Reserve remaining stock  in the pot to use later in recipe.(Personally I just microwaved the stock in a big Pyrex cup so I didn’t have to wash a whole other pan 🙂 )

2. Meanwhile while couscous is ‘cooking’, do your prep work: chop the mint and parsley, dice the onion and mince the garlic, separate the cauliflower into little flowerettes, and rinse and drain the chickpeas.

3. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the onion, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Cook together for about 30 seconds then add the can of tomatoes(with juice). Continue to cook, still stirring frequently, until the tomatoes are beginning to fall apart a little, about 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Add the tomato paste, leftover stock, and cauliflower to the saucepan, and bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and cover and simmer 10 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Add the peas and chickpeas to the stew and cook for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and add the olives.

6. Fluff the couscous and serve it in wide bowls or mound onto plates and top with the stew. Garnish with mint, parsley and yogurt.(Meal would be totally vegan if you don’t use the yogurt!)

Enjoy!

xoxo

-G

See the post that inspired me here on Sharon’s blog.

I am Alive!

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♥Hello world!♥

Seriously it breaks my heart that I have not posted a blog since JULY 9th!! Are you kidding me?!?!?! I don’t know what happened. It’s not that I didn’t love writing my posts- I did & I do! I just struggled with writing them- adding my pictures-editing-styling- ect…… I wish I could just snap my fingers and my amazing ideas(I’m so modest) would transpose themselves into blog posts to share with all of you!!!!  I hope you can all forgive me 🙂

I have LOTS of great recipies and craft ideas and radom things as well. I want to do a post a week and branch out on the things I post about. While cooking is serisouly the love of my life and my favorite thing to do in the world, I know I have more to share than just that !

So my aplogies to all of my avid followers and readers for falling off the face of the earth for damn near 10 months! I hopefully will get some posts together this weekend- so stay tuned- great stuff is coming SOON!

Here is a taste of what I’ve been up to:
Little montage of Summer 2012 adventures :)

Little montage of Summer 2012 adventures 🙂

Visiting my dad in Kansas City in October.

Visiting my dad in Kansas City in October.

love

Visiting my dad again for Christmas!

Thanks for visiting my blog! Hope life with each and every one of you is fan.tas.tic!

xoxoxo

-G

Boeuf Bourguignon

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This is a super simple and fast delicious way to make this! And it looks super fancy and like you slaved away all day 🙂

What you NEED:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 #’s sirloin steak cut into 1 inch pieces

Salt and Pepper

1 10 oz package of sliced mushrooms

1 package of frozen pearl onions

2 cups of red wine

1 can of Golden Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup of flat leaf parsley

What you DO:

  • Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Season steak with salt and pepper and cook until browned (5-6 or so minutes) Transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside.
  • Add the mushrooms and onions to the pan and cook until the liquid has started to evaporate. Add the wine and the can of soup and bring to a boil.  Add the steak and juices from the bowl and simmer all of it for about 5 minutes.

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!! You’re all done! Now, you could serve this alone in a bowl, over mashed potatoes, over egg noodles. Whatever you’re heat desires. Just top with some parsley and eat!

What you GET: 

That broccoli is another story, sooo delicious you will never stop eating it 🙂 Just cut up broccoli, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and roast at about 425 for 15-20 minutes. We eat that almost weekly.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

-G