Oh baby its cold outside! My car has a feature to warn about chilly
temperatures. If the temp drops to 37 degrees or lower, a snowflake appears on
my dash and a bell sounds. Until this winter, it has never happened here at home. Now it happens almost daily. Brrrrr….
I hope you are
keeping warm but also getting out enjoying the sun when it’s shining.
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Lemons
It makes me crazy
when lemons cost almost a buck at the store. Heck! Just makes friends with a
neighbor with a tree! Lemons and oranges are everywhere and most people are happy
to share.
I adore lemons. They
make everything better. One of the things I do if I have extra lemons is first
zest them and freeze the zest and then juice them and freeze in ice cube trays.
Each cube will be about 2T. When they are frozen, pop them out and put them in
a freezer bag and whenever you need fresh juice or zest, you’re covered. A bit
of lemon and olive oil is the perfect replacement for bottles salad dressing.
Lemons have strong
antibacterial, antiviral, and immune-boosting powers. Lemons contain many
substances--notably citric acid, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, bioflavonoids,
pectin, and limonene--that promote immunity and fight infection. Enjoy some
lemon juice in your water. Lemons make it easy to up your daily water intake.
Nature gives us lemons when we need them most. Thanks Mother Nature! You rock!
Okay. So I
am having a food swap and I am going to make lemon curd. I love lemon curd. I
love it a bit too much actually. Here is a Barefoot Contessa recipe to try if
you love lemon curd too.
Lemon Curd
1999, The Barefoot
Contessa Cookbook, All Rights Reserved
Yield: 3 cups
Ingredients
3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound unsalted
butter, room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
(3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher
salt
Directions
Using a carrot
peeler, remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put
the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and
pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.
Cream the butter and
beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add
the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into
a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes),
stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or
just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.
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Tangerines
As with oranges, Tangerines are very low (53 cal/100 g) in calories. Nevertheless, they are valuable sources of flavonoid anti-oxidants like narigenin, hesperetin, vitamin A, carotenes, xanthins and luteins; in fact many times higher than in oranges.
In addition, these citrus fruits are very rich sources of vitamin-C (ascorbic acid), a water-soluble vitamin. Vitamin-C is one of powerful natural anti-oxidant, which has many essential roles like collagen synthesis, wound healing, anti-viral, anti-cancer activity, and helps prevent from neuro-degenerative diseases, arthritis, and cold/fever...etc by removing oxidant free radicals from the body. Vitamin C helps absorb iron in the food by reducing ferrous form of iron element to ferric form in the gut.
Isn’t that cool? ;-)
Place
the fruit that you plan to use right away in baskets. Set the baskets out of
direct sunlight and where air can circulate freely around the fruit. Tangerines
stored at room temperature last two to three days. Refrigerate unwrapped
tangerines that you plan to keep for several days, up to a week. They most
likely will not last much beyond that because they are much more delicate than
other varieties of citrus. I like to put them in a pretty bowl with my other
winter produce and put it on the table so I can enjoy their beauty. And then I
eat ‘em!
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Garlic
Hate Peeling Garlic?
Microwave it! Microwave
your garlic for about 20 seconds before peeling it. This won't completely
remove the husk, but it'll make the garlic cloves slide out with surprising
ease.
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Spaghetti squash
Spaghetti squash is
low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of
Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good
source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.
Like
pumpkin and other winter squashes, whole uncooked spaghetti squash is best
stored between 50 to 60 degrees, and will last up to six months this way. If
you have a room in your home that isn't well-heated, maybe you can use some
space in it as a "root cellar" to store onions, squash, apples, and
the like. On the other hand, spaghetti squash will keep several weeks at room
temperature.
From the wonderful
http://www.chow.com/ blog comes this recipe
and photograph.
]
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Parmigiano-Reggiano
Ingredients
1 large spaghetti
squash (about 5 pounds)
4 tablespoons olive
oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black
pepper
2 medium garlic
cloves, finely chopped
1 medium shallot,
finely chopped
3/4 cup finely grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra for serving
Preparation
Heat the oven to
400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and
scrape out the seeds. Brush the flesh with 2 tablespoons of the oil and season
generously with salt and pepper. Place the squash halves cut-side up on a
baking sheet and roast until fork tender, about 50 minutes.
Remove the squash
from the oven and let sit at room temperature until cool enough to handle,
about 30 minutes. Scrape the flesh with a fork to make long strands; set aside.
Heat the remaining 2
tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering, about
3 minutes. Add the garlic and shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook
until softened and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Add the reserved
squash, toss with tongs to coat thoroughly, and cook until heated through,
about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cheese a handful at a time
while tossing the squash to evenly coat. Serve with freshly ground black pepper
and extra cheese.
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Kale
Everyone knows how
much I love Kale. I had it for breakfast. Then I had the rest of the kale
chips. Yes. I am weirdo. And I’m proud of it! This week I made a dish that was
so simple but so amazingly tasty that I impressed myself. I had a variety of
greens but it can be made with any or all of your favorite greens. All I did
was cook some whole wheat linguini and top it with stir fried greens. I
finished it with some good olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, some coarse salt and
parmesan shavings.
Awe-some.
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Cabbage, mostly Napa
Cabbage is very low
in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Calcium,
Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary
Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate and Manganese.
Store the
whole head of cabbage in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week,
two weeks if it is fresh from the garden. But remember, the older it gets, the
stronger the flavor and odor will be.
Cabbage is
lovely cooked on its own. Of course I am a bit of a purist and would eat a big
bowl o’ cabbage for breakfast.
Simple Cooked Cabbage
Ingredients
1/2 head of cabbage (chopped)
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. water
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Melt
butter in a large skillet add chopped cabbage and toss until cabbage is coated.
Add salt and pepper, and water, cover. Cook until cabbage is done about 15
minutes.
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Lettuce
Red and green leaf lettuce is a good source of Dietary Fiber,
Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium, and a very good source of Vitamin
A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron,
Potassium and Manganese. Red leaf lettuce has a bonus of Beta Carotene.
Store it in a tightly sealed bag in the refrigerator and don’t wash it until you’re ready to use it.
Store it in a tightly sealed bag in the refrigerator and don’t wash it until you’re ready to use it.
Make a simple salad
to compliment the roasted spaghetti squash recipe or any other warm and hearty meal.
The crunch and coolness on a green salad is a great way to add texture to a
meal.
Lemon-Mustard
Vinaigrette
Yields 6 tablespoons, enough (probably too much) for a great big salad bowl of greens
Yields 6 tablespoons, enough (probably too much) for a great big salad bowl of greens
Ingredients
2 tablespoons freshly
squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon prepared
Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 tablespoons good
olive oil
Preparation
Option 1: combine all
ingredients in a small jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously for 30
seconds until emulsified.
Option 2: Combine the lemon juice, mustard and salt in a bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously.
Option 2: Combine the lemon juice, mustard and salt in a bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously.
Taste and adjust the
salt, and add more lemon juice or olive oil to achieve a pleasing balance of
acidity.
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Leeks
Leeks are very low in
Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber,
Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron and Magnesium, and a very good source of Vitamin A,
Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese.
Leeks will
exude an aroma that can be absorbed by other things in your refrigerator, so to
store them before cooking, lightly wrap them in plastic wrap to contain the
odor and moisture. Do not trim or wash before storing. Store in the vegetable
drawer of your refrigerator.
Leeks are related to
both onions and garlic. They have a wonderful mild onion flavor and are perfect
in potato soup. Preparing them requires a process. Watch this video and learn:
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Limes
When I even see a
lime I want a mojito. You?
Ingredients:
4 mint
leaves
1 lime
(for juicing)
1 teaspoon
powdered sugar
2 ounces
white rum
2 ounces
club soda
1 sprig of
mint (for garnish)
Crushed
ice
Preparation
Put
the mint leaves into a medium glass and squeeze the lime juice over them. Add
the powdered sugar and then muddle the mint, lime juice and sugar together. Add
crushed ice. Stir in the rum, top off with the club soda, garnish with a mint
sprig and call Robin.
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Fennel
This food is very low
in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Niacin, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium,
Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C,
Folate, Potassium and Manganese. Refrigerate in plastic bag. Do not
wash until ready to use.
I’m
not a big licorice fan so I was a bit leery about fennel. The taste is a reminiscent
of licorice but it is not overwhelming at all. Now I am a super fan. Of fennel.
I still don’t like black licorice.
The
beginning of my love affair with fennel found me sautéing it gently in olive
oil, salt and pepper. Once we knew each other better and could be our naked (Not
literally. For me anyway – the fennel was
naked) true selves, I started to enjoy fennel shaved and raw in salads and even
in a salad sandwich. There are many other ways to my dear fennel. Here are just
some ideas:
You
too will love fennel.
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