Black Sheep Dancing

Why be like everyone else when you can be yourself?

Category Archives: Vegetarian


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Avocado, Strawberry, and Goat Cheese Toast

Avocado, Strawberry, and Goat Cheese ToastLately I have been on an avocado kick. I put it on toast, salads, even eat it plain. Today’s new creation was so supper yummy! Light, yet delicious. Mmmmm.

Like many recipes lately, this one is super easy.

Avocado, Strawberry, and Goat Cheese Toast

  1. Toast a piece or two of bread
  2. While it is toasting take a whole avocado and smash it up just a bit.
  3. Spread on the toast when it is ready.
  4. Add goat cheese crumbles on top
  5. Slice strawberries and place on top
  6. Drizzle with some balsamic vinegar. If you are feeling fancy, you can cook it on the stove top for just a bit until it is more like a syrup.
  7. Eat. Eat. Eat.
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Fig, Pear, and Brie Grilled Cheese

Brie, Fig, Pear Grilled Cheese

Brie, Fig, Pear Grilled Cheese

Brie, Fig, Pear Grilled CheeseI love Pinterest…a lot. I love to see all the creative ideas. Well, lately I’ve been on a fig kick, and after browsing recipe after recipe, I came up with a recipe of my own. Fig, pear, and brie grilled cheese. Oh my! It is delicious and a nice grown up version of a kid staple.

Fig, Pear, and Brie Grilled Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

  • Bread
  • Fig jam/butter
  • Bosc pear
  • Brie

Spead the jam on both sides of the bread. Layer cheese and sliced pears. Grill as normal. If you like a nice golden, buttery crust go ahead and put some butter on the outside of the bread slices. Enjoy! photo


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The watermelon makes another appearance

So, remember the other day when I made these Watermelon Rind Pickles? I ended up with way too much watermelon for just the two of us, so I needed a way to use some of it up. After searching around the web I made another discovery. It turns out you can make pickles from the pink part too!

I found this recipe and this recipe, and kinda mixed the two together. Spicy watermelon? Had to try it.

Aren’t they beautiful? Just looking at them is good enough for me. They contain watermelon, pickle juice, garlic, hot pepper, bell pepper, dill heads, and a dash of cayenne pepper.

I did try them, and boy, are they spicy. I’m pretty much a weakling when it comes to spices though. I got a mixed reaction from others trying them. Many liked the taste, but not the texture. They don’t really retain very much of the watermelon taste. However, my spicy-food-loving-friends all seemed to enjoy them.

Will I make these again? Possibly. They are just so darn pretty.


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Vegetables and Rice

 

I have a very tiny garden to go with my very tiny apartment. Half of it is in pots, and the other is growing over the sidewalk. But, me and the munchkin make the most of the space and were able to fit in tomatoes, carrots, beans, egg plant, lettuce, herbs, bell peppers, hot peppers, zucchini, and even some potatoes. Every morning we go out and water our garden and pull some weeds. Well, I pull weeds and water while the munchkin digs in the dirt and terrorizes some poor bug.

Our hard work is paying off. Our cherry tomatoes have started to come in, and we’ve gotten quite a few beans. Today we thinned out the carrots, as they were a little forest growing in our garden. Luckily, munchkin is more apt to eat veggies when he picks them himself, so he pulled the carrots and picked the beans. Score one for mom!

Vegetables and Rice

  • 1 clove garlic
  • carrots, chopped
  • onions, chopped
  • green beans, snapped into 1-inch pieces
  • red bell pepper, chopped
  • Muenster cheese
  • Rice

Directions:

  1. Put rice and water in a pot in a 2:1 ratio and cook to directions on package
  2. saute garlic, carrots, and onion in pan. Add green beans and cover and cook on medium heat for five minutes
  3. Add in bell pepper and cook to desired crispness
  4. Spoon hot rice onto plate and cover with a slice of muenster cheese, allowing the cheese to melt and top with veggies.


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Fancy Fried Egg Sandwich

On my last visit home I was exploring my parents’ garden to see what they were growing, and instantly became envious of their super lovely rainbow chard. It’s large and gorgeous, and I knew as soon as I returned home I MUST make something with chard.

Luckily, I recently started a Pinterest account. Have you seen this? It keeps track of random things you find on the web in a pretty board that is fun to look at. Because this is what I need, another way to occupy myself with looking up recipes. Anyways, I started a board for all kinds of chard recipes, and so for dinner I decided to create my own. Thus, the fancy fried egg sandwich.

Ingredients:

  • bagel
  • egg
  • muenster cheese
  • tomatoes, chopped
  • chard, any variety, chopped
  • Mayonnaise

Directions:

  1. Heat skillet to medium low heat. In an oiled pan, break your egg and let it cook. Meanwhile, toast the bagel.
  2. When ready, flip the egg and place piece of muenster cheese on top. On side of pan place chard and tomatoes and cook just long enough to wilt chard.
  3. Spread some mayonnaise on the bagel. Assemble egg and chard mixtures on top of bagel.

Enjoy!


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Watermelon Rind Pickles – Who Knew?

The internet is a wonderful thing. At times when I should be doing laundry or washing dishes, I can look up all sorts of yummy, delicious recipes. Thus, that is what I was doing this past weekend when I happened upon a recipe for watermelon rind pickles. Wh-what? I did a search and found many more recipes for this alien pickle. You can eat the rind? People WANT to eat the rind? Well, immediately I knew I had to try it.

So, this past weekend on a trip to Aldi’s I included one huge watermelon for only $2.99. I forgot how huge watermelons are. I set to work cutting it up and processing the various parts – some to eat plain, some I put in a blender and froze as ice cubes for future smoothies or cocktails, some were made into popsicles, and the rind was cut into chunks…maybe 1/4″. The recipes all said for 1″, but what can you do with that? I’m thinking this might be good on sandwiches or desserts or something. Well, at least I think that is what I am going to do.

Something is wrong with this picture.

It took a long while to cut it up. It was made even longer after cutting it all up and realizing I forgot to peel it before cutting it up, so after soaking in brine I carefully sliced off the green peel from EVERY SINGLE PIECE. Boy, did that take a long time.

Following the brine it was time for the syrup making and processing. It was supposed to make about five half pints, but I got two. I’m blaming it on the relish-like quality.

Not the prettiest in jars, but everyone who has had these say they are totally awesome. I’m a wee bit weary, but again, here’s to trying new things!

Adapted from a Food.com recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 4 lbs watermelon rind
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 2 cupswater
  • 4 cupssugar
  • 3 cinnamon sticks, cut in half
  • 1 teaspoonwhole cloves
  • 1 teaspoonsliced, fresh ginger
  • 2 Tbs lemon juice
  1. Cut up melon rind, peel off the green part, and remove all pink portions.
  2. Cut rind into 1 inch pieces for pickles, smaller for relish.
  3. Weigh
  4. Soak rind overnight in enough bring to cover all pieces, made by dissolving 1/4 cup salt in each quart of water
  5. Drain rind, wash in fresh water and drain again.
  6. Combine remaining ingredients, with the spices in cheesecloth, and boil together 5 minutes.
  7. Add rind a few at a time so it doesn’t spash and cook until rind is clear.(simmer about 30 Min.). Meanwhile, prepare jars.
  8. Remove cheesecloth and put in bottom of prepared jars evenly.
  9. Pack rind on top of spices in hot sterilized jars.
  10. Cover with boiling syrup, remove air pockets, and process in a hot water bath for ten minutes.

I’ve also discovered recipes for the pink part along the way, so I might have to try that next. Again, I haven’t opened these yet. I think I’m going to wait a few weeks and then give it a go.


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Key Lime Cookies

So, now that I have a bazillion jars of that Pineapple Lime Marmalade, I had to find a way to use it up. It’s pretty limey, so I don’t see myself using it every morning on my toast. Sometimes, but not every day. But what to do with it?

I already discovered it is yummy with cream cheese and crackers. Mmmmmm….but then I thought, what about thumb print cookies? Thumb print cookies rolled in coconut! Man, it was ON!

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup Pineapple Lime Marmalade
  • 1/2 to 1 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and egg yolks. Mix in flour until a soft dough forms. Scoop with a small scooper and roll dough into 1 inch balls. If dough is too soft, freeze and start again. Roll cookies in coconut and place balls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Use your thumb to make a well in the center of each cookie. Fill the hole with 1/2 teaspoon of marmalade.
  3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

These turned out AWESOME. However, you must like key lime pie to like these cookies. If you don’t, well, more for us I guess.


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Kitchen Views – Mexican Zucchini Casserole

20110706-073341.jpgRecipe adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini
  • 1 tablespoon seeded, finely chopped mariachi pepper
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/3 cup corn bread mix
  • 2 tablespoons shredded parmesean cheese

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, beat egg, oil, salt and pepper. Add the zucchini, mariachi and onion; stir to coat. Stir in corn bread mix and cheese.
  2. Pour into a greased 15-oz. baking dish and bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I also baked the left over corn bread mix to use that up. Yummy!


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Dinner a la me!

 

Dinner is so awesome when it comes from you and your garden.

  • Green beans from my garden with onion and garlic
  • Refrigerator pickles with cucumbers from the garden
  • Black raspberries hand picked from my parents’ house
  • Confetti potato salad left over from the 4th
  • Mac and cheese with veggie dog pieces (gotta keep the kiddo happy)
  • And peaches, hummus, tortilla chips

We got our first green beans today. Munchkin helped me pick them and loves to eat them raw. Who knew it only took growing veggies to make kids eat them? Do you think it will work for spinach too?

Sadly, my cucumbers are gone. The darn squash bugs found them and I had to take them down. Here’s to hoping they don’t find my zucchini…hoping REALLY hard.


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Breakfast Pie

Growing up, when we went to my Grandma’s house, I remember always having dessert for breakfast. Why wouldn’t you have cookies to start you off right for the day? Or pecan pie? Or brownies? My absolute favorite were the cut out cookies shaped like cardinals. As a kid I thought this ritual was normal. Now that I’ve gotten older, I have realized I just had a very wise, very cool grandmother.

Remember how Sunday I picked black raspberries with my mom? Well, I took home what we picked, and I had to use them up before they went bad. Did you know there are hardly ANY recipes for black raspberries? Everything for the red ones or blackberries, but not black raspberries. Argh.

I contemplated making:

  • Black raspberry syrup
  • Cobbler
  • Muffins
  • Popsicles
  • Cookies
  • Pancakes
  • Jam

But in the end, I went with the trusty dusty black raspberry pie. I used my usual crust and made it all cute with little hearts. (Awwww) I used a recipe for Blackberry Pie, sub black raspberries.

Ready for the oven!

A little extra, so I made a jar pie.

Isn’t it beautiful? The crust turned out perfect, and it didn’t boil over. This pie just looks amazing. I can’t wait to dig in and try it!