Mediterranean Pasta Salad

This bright and healthy mediterranean pasta salad is easy to assemble and a great take-along dish to a party or picnic. No heavy mayo dressing just a light, herby vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

4 cups rigatoni pasta

227 g crab flavoured pollock (real crab/lobster or cooked chicken)

1/2 cup sweet red pepper, diced

1/2 cup red onion, sliced

1 medium tomato, diced

1/4 cup cottage cheese

2 large kale leaves, massaged and thinly sliced

Dressing:

2/3 cup light olive oil

2 tsps dry basil

2 tbsps parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes

1 1/2 tbsps lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dry oregano

pinch sugar

Start by cooking the rigatoni. While it cooks slice and dice the vegetables. 

Prepare the dressing by dumping all the ingredients into a food processor and whirling until smooth and a little creamy.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with the veggies and your choice of protein (ie: pollock, chicken). Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything together. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour for the flavours to blend, but you can even make this salad a day ahead.

This serves 4 as a main dish or 6-8 as a side.

Lemon Zucchini Bread

Zucchini ... synonymous with abundance, profusion, overflow. Yep, if you are being overrun by zucchinis about now then this lemon zucchini bread is a good way to use up those squash!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

zest of one medium sized lemon

3 tbsps fresh lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

2 cups shredded zucchini

2 tsps - 3 tbsps poppy seeds (depending how seedy you like it, I used 2 tsps)

Glaze:

1 cup icing sugar

2 tbsps lemon juice

In a large mixer bowl, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar, lemon zest and juice. In a separate bowl whisk the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour together then add to the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined. Place the shredded zucchini in a clean dish towel and wring out over the sink to get some of the moisture out. Then fold in the zucchini and poppy seeds.

Pour into a prepared (oiled or lined) 9 X 5" loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 60-65 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Once cooled combine the icing sugar and lemon juice and spread the glaze over the top of the bread letting it drip down the sides. 

Let the glaze set before slicing.

Rosemary Foccacia Rolls

No knead, no way!?! Yes way! These mini rosemary focaccia rolls are so easy to make. You can make it even easier on yourself and just bake as one square foccacia. But these little rolls are cute, right? 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsps instant (or rapid) yeast

1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp dry thyme

1/2 tsp zest of lemon

1 1/2 tsps sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup warm water (120°F)

1 tbsp olive oil

Topping:

2 tbsps olive oil

1 - 1 1/2 tsps fresh chopped rosemary

sea salt for sprinkling

Stir the flour, yeast, 1 1/2 tsps rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, sugar and salt together in a large mixer bowl. Add the water and olive oil and beat for 1 minute. Use a thermometer to get the water temperature right. The dough will be a little more like batter. And that's it, no kneading!!

Oil a muffin tin well with vegetable oil and spoon the dough into 9 muffin cups. I found an ice cream scoop worked well. Let rise in a warm place, uncovered, for 30 minutes. (I like to turn my oven on for 1 minute, then turn it off. Perfect warm place for proofing.)

While waiting warm the topping oil and rosemary in a small saucepan on low heat for a minute or two, then cool. Once the rolls have risen gently spoon, brush or dab the herbed oil on top. Add a small sprig of rosemary if you like, then sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet to catch any oil that may drip. Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes.

Or for a traditional foccacia use an 8 X 8" pan and bake same temperature for 25-30 minutes.

Best served warm!

Makes 9 rolls

Adapted from seasonsandsuppers.ca

Salisbury Meatballs with Hummus Mashed Potatoes

Meatballs and mashed potatoes are BFFs amIrite?

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 lb lean ground beef

1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup flax (optional)

1 egg

3 tbsps ketchup

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbsps vegetable oil

Sauce:

2 tbsps butter

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 cup low sodium beef broth

2 tbsps cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp ketchup

garnish fresh parsley

Hummus Mashed Potatoes:

1 - 1 1/2 lbs potatoes

butter and milk to mash

1/2 cup hummus, store bought or homemade

Combine the ground beef with the rest of the meatball ingredients and form into 1" balls. I made 26 balls. Cook in a skillet with vegetable oil on medium to medium high heat for about 10 minutes, browning on all sides. Then remove the meatballs to a plate.

In the same skillet start the sauce. Add the butter and onions and cook until soft. Whisk the cornstarch and broth together, then the rest of the sauce ingredients all into the skillet. Cook until thickened about 4-5 minutes.

Return the meatballs to the sauce and heat through ensuring that no pink remains.

If you want to serve this over Hummus Mashed Potatoes boil cubed potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and mash with some butter and milk, then mash in the hummus. See at the end of this post for my Everything Bagel Hummus recipe link.

Then serve a dollop of mashed potatoes topped with saucy meatballs and garnished with fresh parsley.  I had a few green peas from the garden to add as well.

Everything Bagel Hummus recipe:

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2021/07/everything-bagel-hummus-with-bagel-chips.html

Meatball recipe adapted from: jocooks.com

Peanut Butter Oil Painting with your Dog

Your dog might be a "Pawcasso" too!

This was a fun and yummy activity to do with Karma on her 8th birthday! (We both had the fun but she had the yummy 😃)

Take a blank canvas. You can get one from the dollar store or what I did was gesso over an old painting. I gave the background a wash of Payne's grey then dabbed on some colours in oil paint. All the Pinterest posts I've seen of dogs painting using this method have used acrylic paint but we only had oil so we went with that.

I slid the canvas into a large ziplock baggie and tried to remove as much air as possible. Then spread natural peanut butter all over the bag. Make sure your PB does not contain xylitol as it is toxic for dogs.

And here is Karma Pawcasso ready to "paint"! 

We did it out on the grass to keep the painting in one place. I imagine it would have slid all over the floor if we'd done it inside.

She started on the outside edge of the canvas...

Then worked her way around her masterpiece until all the PB was gone.

And here is her masterpiece! 

Baked Ratatouille with Chickpeas and Sweet Potato

Before you know it you'll be harvesting some of your favourite late summer veggies from the garden. You'll want this vegetarian, one pan dinner in your back pocket!

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, unpeeled and sliced 1/2"

1 medium yellow zucchini, sliced 1/2"

1 large onion, diced

1 orange sweet pepper, diced

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced small

1 cup canned chickpeas

1-2 tbsps minced garlic

28 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup olive oil

black pepper to taste

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dry thyme

2 tbsps tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1-2 tbsps chopped, fresh basil

2 tbsps capers with some brine

garnish with fresh basil and parsley

Easy lemon brown rice:

1 cup brown rice

3-4 cups water

zest of 1/2 lemon

3 tbsps lemon juice

Slice the eggplant about 1/2" inch thick, salt the slices and place between paper towels. Weigh it down (chopping board with water-filled pot) for 1 hour. Then rinse the salt off and cut into cubes.

Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet and brown the eggplant, onion and sweet potato for about 5 minutes. 

Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the garnishes of course, cover and bake in a 425°F oven for 50-60 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender.

Serve garnished warm or at room temperature as is or...

with this easy lemon brown rice. Simply pour water over rice in a bowl, stir and leave on the counter 3-4 hours. Then drain off any remaining water, stir in the lemon juice and zest and heat in the microwave. That's it!

Serves 6

One Pan White Fish and Rice

This meal has it all!

It cooks in one pan, it's a healthy meal, cooks in less than 30 minutes and it's super colourful!

Ingredients:

400 g white fish fillets (Basa this time)

2 tbsps olive oil

lemon pepper to taste

Rice:

3/4 cup white or basmati rice

1/2 cup diced red pepper

12 asparagus spears, cut in 1 1/2" pieces

2 tbsps olive oil

1 1/2 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsps capers with some of the brine

1 tbsp olive oil

a few fresh basil leaves

2 radishes, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with lemon slices, basil leaves, fresh parsley, nasturtium or any other edible flowers.

First, pat the fish fillets dry with a paper towel. Then brush 2 tbsps of olive oil on both sides. season with lemon pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet heat 2 tbsps olive oil on medium, then add the rice and red pepper. Stir to coat. Add water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer 4-5 minutes.

Toss the capers/brine, asparagus, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil, salt and pepper together.

Nestle the fish fillets into the rice, top with the capers etc. and add sliced radishes.

Cover and simmer 10 minutes on low/medium low. After 10 minutes remove the cover and cook 2-3 minutes to reduce liquid.

Using a large spatula, lift fish fillet and rice out of the skillet and plate with more colourful garnishes.