Taste of Yellow for Barbara
August 25, 2012 | Filed Under Friends, Winos and Foodies blog, Yellow Foods | 8 Comments
I am at the grocery store…
I see yellow all around me… like lemons and yellow bell peppers…
… and yellow plantains…
It reminds me of Barbara Harris of Winos and Foodies.
Paz
Black and White Wednesday: Finished Lunch
August 7, 2012 | Filed Under Black and White Wednesday, Fellow Bloggers | 8 Comments
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This weekend, I met up with Vianney of Sweet Life. She’d just finished a whirlwind visit to New York City for a BlogHer conference. I met Vianney at Grand Central Station, a location I hadn’t been in a long, long time, and we found a place to grab a bite to eat. Oh, what fun I had! We talked and talked and planned some of the things we would do on her next visit to the city.
Paz
Black and White Wednesday: A Culinary Gallery
created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook
Tomato Bruschetta (Barbara Harris the Victorious Woman)
August 6, 2012 | Filed Under Fellow Bloggers, Tomato bruschetta, Tomatoes, Winos and Foodies blog | 12 Comments
Dear friend Barbara Harris of Winos and Foodies recently passed away, after a long illness with cancer. I always thought of her as a victorious woman. I still do. I’ve mentioned Barbara here before. We met when Meeta of What’s for Lunch, Honey? organized a Blogger Postcard Swapping Event. Although we had official postcard partners, we later exchanged postcards. She liked the John Lennon postcard I’d sent to my partner. So, I sent her one and she sent me a postcard, too. We became fast friends after that and kept in touch on the blogs and outside of it.
In 2007, Barbara created the food blogging event LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow, which was her way of raising awareness of cancer and the work done by Lance Armstrong and his LiveSTRONG organization. Barbara asked food bloggers to showcase foods in the color yellow. I happily participated in the yearly event since its beginning (You can see what I made here.).
Meeta the creator of Monthly Mingle has dedicated the monthly food blogging event to our dear food blogging friend, Barbara. Jeanne of Cook Sister is the guest host. Stop by her blog to see a list of other bloggers who have contributed to ‘A Taste of Yellow’ tribute to Barbara.
Basically, the rule to ‘A Taste of Yellow" is to use yellow ingredients to make or bake something. I saw a beautiful and delicious-looking recipe for Tomato Bruschetta. I knew I wanted to try the recipe for Barbara, using yellow tomatoes. I ended up buying heirloom and fusion tomatoes and picked out that yellow tomatoes in the bunch to make my yellow tomato bruchetta.
I loved how my bruschetta turned out — delicious and eye-catching! I believe Barbara would approve.
Rest in peace, Victorious Barbara!
Paz
Ed. Note: You can view the Monthly Mingle roundup HERE.
Tomato bruschetta
from Laylita’s Recipes
Summary: Easy tomato bruschetta recipe made with cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil
Ingredients
4 cups of cherry tomatoes, heirloom or regular
3-4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed but still whole
2 tbs olive oil
Handful of fresh basil leaves or 2 tsp dried crushed basil
Salt to taste
To serve: Lightly toasted bread slices rubbed with garlic and fresh basil/thyme to garnish
Instructions
- Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on their size.
- Mix the cut cherry tomatoes, the lightly crushed garlic cloves, olive oil, basil and salt in bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, overnight is ideal.
- Remove the fresh basil leaves and garlic cloves. Serve on top of lightly toasted bread slices that have been rubbed with a garlic clove. Garnish with fresh basil or thyme.
Sausage, Peppers and Onions
May 31, 2010 | Filed Under Italian Sausages, Sauces, Simply Recipes blog | 13 Comments
The other day, I had the best ever sandwich in the world. Why was it so good? That’s because I made it myself. With my own two hands! Yes, I did. 
Made from sausage, peppers and onions, this sandwich was so good that someone (I won’t name the person) who claimed not to be hungry ended up eating TWO of the sandwiches. The same person ate the leftovers the next day. Yes, it was that good. To my surprise, the meal was very easy to make, too.
My overstuffed sandwich consisted of sausage, peppers and onions. I like hot and spicy foods, so I used hot sausages and added extra red pepper flakes. Fresh basil is not mentioned in the ingredients portion but I used it in addition to the dried oregano. Even more delicious. Only one person didn’t care for the sandwich because the meal was too spicy for them. No matter; that meant more for me and the other greedy eaters there. All in all, we were happy with our sausage, peppers and onions sandwich. Next time, I’ll try the sauce with penna pasta or polenta, as Elise of Simply Recipes suggest. Thanks, Elise!
Paz
Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
You can use different colored bell peppers, or just stick with green. This recipe uses a combination of sweet and hot sausages, but if you want a milder dish, use only the sweet sausages and reduce the amount of chili pepper flakes in the recipe. (Likewise if you want it hotter, use hot sausages and/or bump up the amount of chili pepper flakes.)
Ingredients
* 4 Italian sausage links (sweet, hot, or a couple of each)
* 2 Tbsp olive oil
* 1 green bell pepper, sliced into 2 to 3 inch long strips
* 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 2 to 3 inch long strips
* 1 bell pepper of another color (yellow or orange or purple), sliced into strips 2-3 inches long
* 4 garlic cloves, sliced into slivers
* 1 large sweet or yellow onion, sliced into 1/4-inch half-moons
* 1 small (15 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
* 1 Tbsp of dried oregano
* 1/2 cup Marsala or red wine (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
* Salt to taste
Method
1 Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pan that has a lid. When the oil is hot, add the sausages and brown them slowly. If they sizzle and crackle too much, turn the heat down. You want a gentle browning, not a sear. Cook for several minutes, turning them occasionally so they brown on all sides. When the sausages are browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
2 Increase the heat to high and add the onions and peppers. Toss so they get coated with the oil in the pan and sear them as well as you can, stirring every so often. You want some blackening. Once the onions and peppers soften, sprinkle some salt on them. Once you get some searing on the onions and peppers, add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
3 Add the Marsala or red wine if you are using, and with a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the browned and blackened bits. Let the wine cook down by half.
4 Add the tomatoes, oregano and red pepper flakes (if using) and stir well to combine. Add the sausages back in. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the peppers are soft the sausages are cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Sausage, peppers and onions will keep in the fridge for several days.
Serve over polenta, or with penne pasta, or load up in a hoagie roll. Any leftover sauce makes a great sauce for pasta.
Serves 4.
Smoked Bacon BLT with Arugula
May 25, 2010 | Filed Under BLT Sandwich, sandwiches, Simply Recipes blog | 5 Comments
Nothing could be better than a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich on a Sunday afternoon. For me, it’s a treat because I only eat bacon once in a while. While I’m used to a BLT with iceberg lettuce, this recipe calls for baby arugula or watercress in the sandwich. I chose the baby arugula and liked the difference in taste. Very nice! Check out the recipe from Simply Recipes. After making the sandwiches, the instructions say to ‘eat immediately.’ I did.
Paz
Smoked Bacon BLT with Arugula Recipe
Simply Recipes
Ingredients
* 2-3 slices thick smoked bacon
* 1-2 thin slices of a fresh, large tomato
* 1-2 ounces (a couple handfuls) fresh baby arugula (can substitute watercress)
* 2 slices of bread
* Mayonnaise
Method
1 Heat a large sauté pan or cast iron pan on medium low heat. Lay the strips of bacon in a single layer on the pan. Slowly cook the bacon, rendering out the fat, until lightly browned on one side. Using a fork or tongs, turn the strips of bacon over to cook the other side. When the bacon strips are sufficiently cooked remove from pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the excess fat. Pour out excess fat from the pan (leaving about half a teaspoon in the pan) into a jar or a container to either dispose of or to store. (Never pour bacon grease down the sink, it will clog your pipes.)
2 In the same pan, add handfuls of fresh baby arugula or watercress. Toss in the remaining remaining fat. As soon as the greens start to wilt, remove from heat and remove from the pan to stop the cooking.
3 Toast bread slices in a toaster. Spread mayonnaise (or your favorite spread, butter will do too) over the slices. Layer the sandwich with bacon, sliced tomato, and lightly wilted arugula. Cut on the diagonal.
Eat immediately.
