I Liked it! I Really Liked It!
May 10, 2009 | Filed Under Cookies, Donation, Drop in & Decorate, Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started to Cook, Herbs, Sweet Potatoes | 30 Comments
Sweet potatoes! Simply tossed with extra virgin olive oil, salt (or Veg-it), and chopped fresh herbs like Oregano, Marjoram, Rosemary and Thyme. Roasted at about 375°F till cooked and a little caramelized. And Viola! Ready for me to enjoy. I loved it!
I never liked sweet potatoes. While I found sweet potato pie okay (a little too sweet for me), I never cared for it. In general, I hated it, especially when it was served at Thanksgiving meals. Hated it. Okay, maybe I should say I never liked the way they were prepared.
Well, I finally liked this dish, based on a suggestion from Christine Cooks. Yay! I liked that it was simple to make. The taste was flavorful and enhanced by the fresh herbs. A really nice meal. Sweet potatoes will now be on my eating list. 
A while ago, I mentioned that Lydia of The Perfect Pantry was looking for people to host the Drop In & Decorate® holiday event, where you and your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers (everyone/anyone) get together and decorate cookies (like a cookie-decorating party) then donate the cookies to places serving people in difficult circumstances during the holiday season — places like an emergency shelter, local food pantry, senior center. It’s started and been really successful so far. If you have time, you can read an update about it and see fun photos here.
Have a good week, all.
Paz
Berenjena Asada/Grilled Eggplant
June 2, 2008 | Filed Under Argentinean Recipes, Cuisines, Eggplant, Fellow Bloggers, Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started to Cook, From Argentina with Love blog, South American Cuisine, Vegetables | 12 Comments
Lately, I’ve been enjoying a relatively new food blog by Rebecca of From Argentina with Love. It’s a lovely blog that gives her experience in Argentina and mouth-watering recipes, and mesmerizing photos.
In one post, she wrote a story about how she and her husband got into an accident with a truck driver. Interestingly enough, later, the truck driver shared his lunch with them — marinated eggplant, which his wife had made for him. Rebecca described it as the best eggplant she’d ever tasted. I very much loved the story and the look and sound of the meal that I decided to make it.
Well, I’m sad to write that my marinated eggplant dish did not turn out well at all. It seemed relatively simple enough to make, but I apparently took some wrong turns on my cooking adventure road. I cooked the eggplant too long and I think I left the fire too high that the poor eggplant practically fell apart. It didn’t look appetizing at all and unfortunately it tasted even worse. I kept it in the fridge for five days before finally acknowledging that it really belonged in the garbage.
Later, Rebecca posted another interesting and easy-sounding eggplant recipe — Berenjena Asada/Grilled Eggplant. I could handle that, I thought to myself. I set out to make it. This time, it was smooth sailing for me. No problems. And my grilled eggplant tasted delicious! Yes!
I’m definitely going to try making the marinated eggplant again. I’m pretty sure that I’ll do a better job the next time around.
Paz
Grilled Eggplant
2 eggplants, washed and cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
coarse salt
crushed red pepper
oregano
olive oil
Put the eggplant rounds in a roasting pan and sprinkle abundantly with salt. Let them ‘sweat’, and then drain them. Drizzle generously with olive oil, and sprinkle with oregano and crushed red pepper. Place on the grill, over indirect heat, until soft in the center — they will appear juicy and have grill marks.
The marinated eggplant that was not meant to be. I will try to make it again.
In the meant time, go here to see what it’s really supposed to look like.
Oven-Roasted, Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
May 27, 2008 | Filed Under Asparagus, Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started to Cook, Lucullian Delights blog, Vegetables | 17 Comments
"This is good!" my mom exclaimed after she took a bite of my oven-roasted, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, courtesy of Ilva’s recipe. She sounded and looked very surprised as she continued to eat it. She’s right: It WAS good.
I mentioned in a previous post that I never used to like eggplants — till I started cooking. Well, you can add asparagus to my list of ‘Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started Cooking’. Back in the day, I’d purse my lips, scrunch my face and turn away from the offending green spear. I tried to keep asparagus far away from my plate. Today, I love asparagus — especially roasted. In this recipe, the prosciutto added an extra special delicious taste. Yup! It tasted good, indeed. Thanks, Ilva!
Paz
Oven-Roasted Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
Fresh green asparagus, not too thin stalks
Prosciutto crudo or Parma ham
Extra-virgin olive oil
- Clean the asparagus, snap off the lower part, you can peel it if it is to thick skinned.
- Wrap approximately half a slice of Parma ham around each asparagus stalk, you have to judge yourself as the size of the slices may vary.
- Grease an oven-proof form with a litle olive oil and put one layer of asparagus in it.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/347°F) until the ham is crisp and the asparagus has softened. It takes about 10-15 minutes.
Chili Sauteed Eggplant with Beans, Parsley and Lemon
May 14, 2008 | Filed Under Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started to Cook, Lucullian Delights blog, Salad | 18 Comments
After some dental surgery the other day, I am finally able to eat something other than "soft" food. I still have to be careful about what I put into my mouth and decided to make Ilva’s Chili Sauteed Eggplant with Beans, Parsley and Lemon. Actually, I didn’t have any chili peppers and used crushed red pepper. It worked. I not only liked the taste of the food but the texture as well — the sauteed eggplant, the soft cannelini beans, and the fresh parsley.
In many of my older posts, I’ve mentioned several foods that I never liked until I started cooking. Eggplant is one of those foods. Now, I love it and enjoy all the recipes containing it. Ilva’s recipe was no different. As with many of her recipes, this was NOT time-consuming to make. Yes! Thanks, Ilva!
Paz
Chili Sauteed Eggplant with Beans, Parsley and Lemon
Eggplant
Fresh chili pepper
Garlic
Cannelini or Borlotti beans, cooked
Parsley, chopped
Lemon Juice
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Clean and dice the eggplant.
Chop the chili pepper and the garlic, heat them up in olive oil and add the diced eggplant. Salt it.
Saute unitl the eggplant is golden, then take it out of the pan and let it drop of excess fat on kitchen towel paper.
Put the beans in a bowl, add plent of parsley and squeeze a good squeeze of lemon juice over it all.
Add the eggplant, mix well and serve.
Zucchini and Eggs
May 5, 2008 | Filed Under Eggs, Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started to Cook, Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska blog, Vegetables, Zucchini | 12 Comments
I found this very easy and delightful Greek recipe on Laurie’s wonderful blog, Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. I already had the basic ingredients (zucchini, eggs, lemons, onions, feta cheese. and bread) so I made it for dinner. With this simple recipe, I was happy I didn’t have to exert a lot of energy in the kitchen after a long day’s work. The only things missing were the olives and a glass of ouzo but my dinner was still delicious. Perhaps I shouldn’t point this out but the zucchini slices are supposed to be nicely browned but as I was preparing it, I was too hungry to wait for it to properly brown. It still tasted good — brown or not.
Paz
Zucchini and Eggs
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as part of an appetizer spread
Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska
2 medium zucchini (1 pound)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup diced yellow onion, 1/4” dice
4 eggs
Lemon wedges
In the same pan, adding olive oil if necessary, sauté the onions, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, until they soften and begin to turn golden. Add the cooked zucchini and gently mix the zucchini and onion. Spread the vegetables out evenly over the bottom of the skillet.
Whisk together the eggs, and pour evenly over the zucchini. Sprinkle with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover, turn down the burner, and cook over low heat until the eggs are set. Slide the Zucchini and Eggs onto a serving platter, cut into quarters, garnish with lemon wedges, and serve immediately.
Zafiris serves Zucchini and Eggs with slices of feta cheese, olives, bread, and a glass or two of ouzo.
