Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Brown Rice

Roasted Broccoli

So easy, quick and absolutely amazing!

Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, toss broccoli florets, olive oil, garlic (lots and rough chopped), sea salt and pepper to taste.

Spread on aluminum lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Check at this point and determine remaining time until leaves are crunchy and lightly browned.

Serve fresh for most enjoyment!

Sweet Brown Rice

Pour olive oil in sauce pan and lightly saute brown rice. Add 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 water as needed to cook rice. Season with salt. Chop up craisins and throw in a handful. Add zest of 1/2 orange. Cook rice according to ingredients. Once complete, stir in some balsamic vinegar then bon appetite!

Dally in the Alley - Taste Test 2

Tasting Number Two Review...

This amazing feasting night after night would come right before bikini season... I said yesterday that I would light the rest of this week. Well, tonights menu made me happily break that promise to myself. At least I got to the gym today!

Fish of the Day

Pan seared and served over steamed jasmine rice, pan seared shitake mushrooms, baby bok choy, snow peas and spring onions with orange, chilis, ginger and soy sauce

The fish - cooked to perfection! I also loved the melody of steamed, asian inspired vegetables. I did forgo the rice, I much rather would have more figs or black bean soup then fill on that - since I had the chance!

Although this dish was close to perfection, we all decided the fish needed some sort of sauce. One solution to this tonight, that actually worked wonderfully, was using the spicy asian vinaigrette from the salad last night. Good thing there is still more of that dressing left, because it is so fresh, crisp - yet spicy - I cant get enough!

Pan Seared Asian Vegetables

Grilled Pork Sausages

with figs and pistachios

I absolutely loved this fig sauce!! I got a couple pointers on how it was made, and will try and come close to making such an amazing sauce for myself in the near future.

The sausage was grilled on a charcoal grill then sliced and served with the reduced fig sauce. Crushed pistachios added a touch of brightness and lightness... just enough for me to have a few too many bites and believe that at least some of it was healthy!

What an A + appetizer, we all kept going back for more throughout the night.

Black Bean Soup

Hello perfectly spiced black bean soup, I love you. Theres not much more to say, than soaking beans produces the perfect base for a wonderfully flavored black bean soup. (and is much nicer on the tummy) Now I am inspired to cook a black bean soup of my own!

On another note - a special, and delicious twist - for my black bean soup seconds I cut up figs from the fig sauce and sausage and added them to the pot. HEAVEN!

Dally in the Alley - Tasting One

In preperation for the opening of my Aunt's restaurant, "Dally in the Alley", we had the first of many tastings tonight! This posting has the menu from tonight with my honest opinions on the dishes. The best part of this tasting... the first two dishes yielded so much food that we have a second tasting for the remainder dishes lined up for tomorrow night.

Asian Spinach Salad

Fresh spinach, snow peas, asian pear, navel oranges, pickled chili & cucumber, toasted hazelnuts, spicy Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette.

WOW! This salad was amazing and so light. The pork was plated first, so unfortunantly since I ate that first and it was so good I probably ate way too much!

My favorite component of the dish were the asian pears, which I believe were lightly pickled. They have this wonderful, crisp texture to them - like a cross between an apple and pear my Aunt mentioned. The second thing that made this salad was the dressing. It had the perfect kick to counterbalance the sweetness that I naturally find in a good vinaigrette.

Roast Pork

Slow roasted and accompanied by Cabernet [sauce/gravy], roasted shallot and wild mushroom gravy and sauteed greens, parsnip and pear mash

The above equals HEAVEN! This soulful dish left me so full, after I helped myself to seconds that is! It was absolutely amazing. The sauce was rich, but not overly indulgent or thickened with butter and flours. Instead, it was a wonderful combination of cooking juices, reduced wines and a touch of cream. The pork - so tendor and a wealth of flavor.

The pork wasn't the only star hear - everything was outstanding! The parsnip and pear mash was a suprisingly sweet and healthy twist to the usual "mashed potatoes". The texture was wonderful and the flavor so unique, while adding a healthy "starch" to the dish. And well Kale, I just love Kale cooked anyway. Especially when there is still a little crunch to it.

All in all, tasting #1 far surpassed my expectations. I went in to dinner thinking we would be throwing around feedback and ideas to enhance the dishes, instead we found ourselves so wrapped up in the food it was hard to talk... until we were done with our seconds that is.

Scone Recipe

(banana walnut above)

Trying to make scones at home is quite a challenge, considering the bakery my sister works at am has pretty much perfected the art! Yet anyways, I have tried to create my perfect, at-home scone recipe and here it is. Each time I make it, they just get better and better!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• mix-in ingredients
• strawberry and white chocolate chips
• cinnamon (powder) and cinnamon and chocolate chips
• banana and walnuts
• powdered sugar (for rolling out)
• sugar in the raw (to top with)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

To start, mix in all dry ingredients in a bowl. use a whisk to blend ingredients together.

Cut butter in to one tablespoon portions and add to dry mixture. use a emulsion blender to mix butter into flour mix. (could also do in food processor)

In a cup measurer, combine sour cream, vanilla and egg. Mix together well.

At this time, add toppings in to flour mixture. Then add wet ingredients and stir using spoon until all moist and dough has formed.

Fold out dough on to a work surface prepped with powdered sugar. Mold into circle and cut out scones.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place scones on sheet. Sprinkle sugar in the raw on scones at this time.

Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Rotate tray. Bake addition four - five minutes, until nice and golden brown.

Let cool on rack. Enjoy!