a simple dessert, roasted nectarines and plums

I have found that my body and the arthritis I have does not deal well with sugar.  Or at least not as well as I would like it to.  Sugar is the worst but it is also true for simple carboyhydrates.  Even so, I still enjoy sweets.  I have been trying to eat more fruit though.

I have started to roast stone fruit as a simple dessert.  The flavors get intensified and the sugar craving gets nixed.  There are little bits that are candied.  Roasting fruit also takes the best part of pie and puts it on your plate.  So, I have never been that fond of pie crust unless it is in pie crust cookies.  (Maybe I will post about those someday, so good with tea.)  This way, I get the best part of the pie!

Roasted nectarines and plums

1 plum per person

1 nectarine per person

a teaspoon of the best raw sugar you can find, if you wish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Slice the fruit into an oven proof pan.  Roast for 20 minutes or until soft with carmalized bits.  Remove pan from oven and put the fruit on a plate.  Make sure to get all the juices.  Sprinkle with a bit of raw sugar.

This would be really good with ice cream if you so chose.  We did not and there was nothing on the plate when we finished.  It was a nice finish to the curry I had made.

cheese crispy bread

I have been craving crispy bread.  A little cheese.  A little salt and pepper.  Pine nuts if I have them.  I started some pizza dough this last weekend and rolled it out thin.  A little olive oil, goat cheese, salt, and pepper and I fulfilled the craving.  I actually ate it at lunch this week as well.  Easy, easy.

cheesy crispy bread

1/2 recipe pizza dough 

1/2 cup goat cheese - I used chevre because that is what I had

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 if you wish really crispy, 400 if not.

Roll the dough out VERY thin.  Spread with olive oil.  Dab with cheese.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Bake 10 minutes.

It was really crispy the first day.  It softened after that but I still enjoyed.  The hotter it was, the saltier it tasted but I do believe that was the cheese.

Add anything else you would wish.

pasta with tuna, ricotta, and tomato

It has been a busy day.  I got a bit of sewing done and a bit of carding done after work.  I found out one of the men I work with and his wife are expecting their first babe so I did a bit of shopping for materials for receiving blankets.  I get tired of pastels for babies.  It is the Tall Short Person's birthday and we have been watching Small Mister as well.  I wanted something simple for dinner.

When I was reading Leone's cookbook, I came across a recipe for a pasta sauce that had tuna, ricotta, and tomato in it.  It also looked like it took about 20 minutes.  Which it really does.  I would start the water boiling for pasta as soon as you start sauteing the tomatoes.  It tastes much richer then it really is.

Pasta with tuna, ricotta, and tomato

1/2 cup butter

4 medium size tomatoes, peeled and chopped (I used about 1 1/2 cups of canned tomato)

about 5 ounces of good olive oil packed tuna (the best you can find)

1/2 cup ricotta

a pinch of salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup parmesan

cooked pasta, suggestion was spaghettini

In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the tomatoes.  Saute for 20 minutes, stirring often enough so they do not stick.

The tomatoes are going to cook down and the flavor will intensify.

Take off the heat and add the ricotta and tuna.  I found it took a bit of mixing to incorporate.

Taste and add a pinch of salt and pepper if needed.

Serve over pasta.  Sprinkle with parmesan.  If your dishes are oven proof, broil for 2 minutes.  Mine were not.

Quite tasty.  This can be a pantry type staple.  I do need to learn to make ricotta.  This is one of those recipes that it is only as good as the quality of the ingredients.

ricotta tart with gluten free chocolate crust

I was rereading a cookbook this evening and I mentioned a recipe to my Beloved.  He basically said "PLEASE!"  We had a lovely dinner of sour cream green chile enchilada casserole but not huge portions.  We were both still a bit nibbly.  And antsy.  We drove to the grocery store and picked up a few items to make this tart.  It is a ricotta tart.  Lighter then a cheesecake which was very nice.  The citrus in the ricotta filling and the chocolate crust were lovely together.

Ricotta tart with chocolate crust

Note:  Adapted from Tessa Kiros' Falling Cloudberries

For the crust:

7 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup teff flour

1/2 cup arrowroot flour

1/2 cup millet flour

1 cup almond flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa flour

1 egg

For the filling:

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 heaping tablespoon orange zest

3 cups smooth ricotta

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Prepare a 9 inch springform pan with parchament paper on the bottom.  Butter and dust with millet flour

Mix the butter and sugar together from the crust.  Mix in the flours and cocoa.  Mix in the egg.  If you have time to refrigerate, do.  I did not and just pressed it into the bottom of the pan and up the sides.  Cover with parchament paper and add dry beans or lentils as weights.  Bake for 20  minutes.  Remove the lentils.  Bake another 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven.

For the filling, mix the eggs and 2/3 cups of sugar together until creamy.  Mix in the orange zest and the ricotta.  Mix in the lemon and orange.

Bake 40 to 60 minutes or until lightly brown and set (it took 60 minutes for me).  Remove from the oven.  Let cool (if possible).

We could not wait.  It was light and citrusy and chocolately.  It is a very nice dessert.  If I did not have monkey bread waiting for me, I would see how it is for breakfast tomorrow!

thai food at home

We have not been eating out for dinner when we are in town lately.  The last time we went out for dinner was my birthday.  This is not a bad thing at all but it does mean that I do not get some foods that I really like.  Japanese and Thai are two.  I came across of recipe for Stir Fried Minced Beef with Chiles and Basil today on Molly's blog and thought I would give it a try.

When we were finished with dinner, we all agreed.  The flavor was good but the number of chiles I used were too many even though that is what the recipe called for.  It will be made again but with less chiles and that is the recipe I am giving you.  But give it a try.  The flavors are good (even if you have to taste them through the fire!)

Stir Fried Minced Beef with Chiles and Basil

Note:  The original recipe calls for 8 to 20 chiles for 1 pound of meat.  Please use your best judgement.

1 head garlic, minced

1 sliced serrano peppers, sliced

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/8 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup vegetable broth

4 large handfuls basil, sliced

Hot rice

4 eggs

lime wedges

In a small bowl, mix the garlic, chiles, and salt.  In a large heavy pan, put over medium high heat and heat 2 tablespoons oil.  Add the garlic mixture and heat until fragrant.  Add the ground meat and stir fry just until the meat starts to brown.  Add the fish sauce and sugar.  Mix in the broth and basil.  Cook until the basil is wilted.

In another pan, heat the rest of the oil.  Fry the eggs until the whites are brown but the yolks are still runny.

In the bowls you will eat in, place rice, then the meat, then the egg.

Enjoy.  This was so tasty that even though it was too spicy for me, I got through half my bowl.  I will make this again when I want Thai food.