Ingredients:
1 pear
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 350 F (or 176 C). Slice up the pear and arrange in an oven-safe dish. Melt the butter, then mix in the honey, vanilla, and lemon juice. Pour mixture over the pears. Bake for about 20 minutes in uncovered dish, then serve. You can put vanilla ice cream on top, or eat them plain. This is one of my winter dessert obsessions.

8 oz pumpkin puree
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Blend all of the ingredients in a large bowl. The mixture will be quite thin. Pour into small pyrex dishes or ramekins, then bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Check on it to make sure it has fully cooked, it may need a little while longer to finish. It made about 4 servings, so if you want more, double the recipe.

Top with fresh whipped cream if you like!

1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup apple juice (or orange juice)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 banana

Blend. Be happy.

When I left, I ran into the Daley Plaza Farmers Market…fresh fruit and veggies abounded, though I had to restrain myself as I had to take the train north to get home.

Tonight I decided to make my favorite new dish: battered chicken. I cut chicken breast into long strips, dipped it in 1 beaten egg, then in a separate bowl that had half corn meal, half rice flour mixed together, then threw it in a pan with some olive oil. Fried up fresh zucchini with paprika, butter, salt, and pepper…yum.

I used a fork to see if it was done, but I had forgotten to cut a hole in the skin before I cooked it, so it exploded on me. I now have 3 burns on my hand and one on my leg. I’ve put medicine on them but it is really just classic “Sholeh”. *sigh*

My first thought was “I should blog about this.” Yeah…

First she started with triple chocolate mousse:

Melting pieces of cooled sugar

Until it is melted and bubbling

Take off the heat when it starts getting sticky

Then waving the sugar around on top of the mousse until it creates a little nest.

It was SO good. Thanks Jade and Tom!

Ingredients
2 lbs chicken breast, sliced thin
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
4 oz (1/2 pkg) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
salt, pepper, garlic to taste

In a bowl, combine spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella, and spices.

Place the sliced chicken in a casserole dish.

Spread the mix on top of the chicken evenly.

Cook at 350 F for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the cheese is browned. I didn’t cover it, but if it looks like it is getting dry, put some foil on top.

I also made some mashed potatoes (salt, pepper, garlic, milk, butter, parsley), and cranberry sauce from scratch, which is very easy to make. 1 package of fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup water, boil.

Delicious!

Let me know if you try this recipe! It was super easy to make.

Most salad dressings are too thick, contain ingredients that make me sick, or are just unhealthy.  I have never been a “salad for a meal” type of person.  I’ll throw down some steak and potatoes with no hesitation.  But in the summer I often have a craving for something lighter. What to do?

The other day I noticed that my glass bottle of olive oil had about 1 cup of oil left in it.  I removed the plastic insert at the opening of the bottle, and added:

1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Then I shook it up. I now have homemade dressing that I keep in my fridge, and I love it.
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Over the last few years, I’ve just picked up whatever Persian tea was easily accessible. My mother tends to mix her own tea, but I don’t have the skills for that. Recently I received some Anisa Tea as a gift, and was stunned to taste something like the tea that is served in Haifa.  The one I like is the “Persian Tradition” blend, of course.

Do you have a particular kind of tea or flavor of tea that you really love?

Ingredients:

1 can grape leaves
2/3 cup rice
1/2 cup yellow split peas
1 tsp salt
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 lb ground beef or lamb
1 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill or 2 Tbs dried
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or 1 Tbs dried
3 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley or 1 cup dried
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp lemon juice

1. Wash and boil yellow split peas until soft, about 1 hour.  Stir occasionally.

2. Make 2 cups of white rice, either in a pot or rice cooker.

3. (for meat eaters) Fry ground meat on the stove with onions, salt, and pepper. Drain.

4. Wash all of the greens thoroughly:

5. Then put them all in a food processor and grind until very small.

6. In a large mixing bowl, mix rice, split peas, greens, lemon juice, and meat.

6. Open jar of grape leaves, carefully rinse and untangle them.  I like to drape them around a mixing bowl or colander.

7. Place leaf on a plate, with the veins of the leaf face-up.

8. Put a spoonful of the mixture on the leaf.

9. Fold one side over.

And another side.

Until it is all wrapped and secure, and none of the mix will spill out.

10. Place in a pot on the stove.  I like to put 1 leaf on the bottom of the pot to make sure that none of the dolmeh sticks to the pot, with a little water.

11. Simmer on low with top on for about 1 hour.  The leaves will soften a bit, and there will be steam.  Serve with yogurt for dipping.

Ingredients
1 lb chicken breast, diced into cubes
1 package pre-cooked risotto
1/2 diced onion
1 bunch chopped fresh parsley
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
pepper, salt, garlic to taste
Parmesan cheese

-In deep pan or shallow pot, fry Chicken, onion, parsley, pepper, salt, garlic in a tablespoon of butter.
-As soon as the chicken is nearly done, add the broth, lemon, & risotto.  Simmer for 5 minutes on low.
-When the risotto is cooked, add the heavy cream and simmer for another 5 minutes. At the very end, add Parmesan cheese.