The Kitchen of Belis

This dish is my introduction to using saffron threads in cooking. I was told to get saffron threads rather than ground version just to ensure full of flavor and purity. Apparently, soaking in water before adding them into the food brings the color and the flavor even more. Also, the flavor was stronger the second day. Fun Fun Fun.







Ingredients

2 cups of brown rice
4 cups of vegetable broth
1/3 tsp Spanish saffron
2 tbs chopped chives
2 tbs lemon curls
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped shallots or white onion
2 tbs of butter
1 bay leave
Salt to taste

Saute shallots in butter until transparent in a medium size pan. Add saffron and the bay leave to onions. Add salt, lemon juice and vegetable broth and bring it to boil. Add rice in and cover pan. Simmer 30 minutes until the rice is tender. Serve hot, garnish with chopped chives and lemon curls.

Recently, I have been checking out food packaging for recipes. So far I have run into so many unexciting ones which were basically designed around selling more products. However, Trader Joe's totally surprised me...again. For the most part, the recipes on the back of Trader Joe's packaging are solid and useable. Especially the vinaigrette recipe on the back of the Herb Salad package. It rocks!






Shallot Citrus Vinaigrette

1 large shallot chopped, minced
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 TBS of lemon juice
2 TBS of apple cider vinegar (this was not in the recipe, our friends' 5 year old suggested it, thinking it would give it a kick)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients and let the vinaigrette sit for some time.

Suggested salad - herb salad with pieces of 2 oranges, 1 medium size jicama cut in julienne-style, roasted pistachios

Quesadillas... I was having a quesadilla craving. However, I have been so bored with predictable restaurant-style, cheese filled grease bags you get in most places. Don't the Mexican restaurant cooks know that one doesn't need to be limited with creativity when it comes to making quesadilla? Enough is enough and I decided to make my own :)





Ingredients

15-20 pieces of medium size shiitake mushrooms
15-20 pearl onions in halves (you can use sliced yellow onions too)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed by using the flat side of your knife and coarsely chopped
2 Anaheim peppers seeded, chopped
1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped (TJ's Roasted Bell Peppers work just fine)
Your choice of shredded cheese (mine is Mexican-style soy cheese)
1 TBS tomato paste
2 TBS safflower oil
1/2 TBS of Mexican seasoning of your choice
Salt and pepper to taste
Water to moisten, about 1/4 of a cup
Whole wheat tortilla wraps

Heat the oil in a medium-size pan, on medium heat. Add onions. When onions start turning pink, add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add mushrooms and cook an additional three minutes. Then add anaheim bell peppers. Add your seasoning. Once you feel like you need to add more oil, add your water. Water in this case is a great substitute to oil and keeps the dish healthier. Mix in the tomato paste. Add salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add roasted red peppers. This will be your filling.

Warm the press grill. Warm up the tortilla wraps. Cover one wrap with the filling add cheese and place another one on top. Press cook for about three minutes until the wraps start to blister.

Cut in fours and serve warm.

If you do not have a press grill, that's OK. You can use a tortilla wrap size pan and press with a heat resistant plate.

Sweet potatoes are delicious cooked in many ways. My favorite way of cooking is probably also the simplest with the lowest number of necessary ingredients.



Ingredients

Sweet potatoes (4 ounce for a serve)
Olive Oil
Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Scrub sweet potatoes well and cut them in half, lengthwise. Put potatoes in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper and chopped fresh rosemary. Bake them until they are tender when pierced. Ta-ta!