Meatless Reubans

My favorite thing about spring is St.Patrick's day, not because I like the colour green and leprechauns bother me but Rubens and more specifically sour kraut. So every year I wait until March and savor the two days we pig out on Rubens, but last year my mom and I stumbled upon a thought: why wait once a year for the corn beef to go on sale, why not try it without it? Oh my golly jeepers, they are my favorite thing, ooooohhh the way the tart sour kraut melts with the Swiss cheese and mixes with the sweet thousand island dressing all resting on two toasty delicious slices of pumpernickel bread...I'm in yummy heaven!

Meatless Reuben
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Makes enough for 8 sandwiches

• Thousand Island Dressing (recipe below)
• 16 slices Rye or Pumpernickel bread (or going fifty-fifty would be nifty...)
• Sauerkraut (38 ounce jar)
• 8 slices of Swiss cheese
• Butter or olive oil

Spread some of the dressing on each slice of bread and top one slice with the desired amount of kraut (my sandwich is more like kraut with bread but you need not be that extreme). Place a slice of cheese on top and then the other piece of bread. Put a wee bit of butter on the top and bottom of the sandwich and toast in the oven on a cookie sheet for 12 minutes. Flip over and cook for 5 minutes more. Slice and melt in the amazing-ness of it all.

Thousand Island Dressing

• 1/4 cup Mayo
• 2 tbsp pickle relish
• 1 tsp ketchup
• 1 tsp mustard
• Miniature splash of Worcestershire Sauce

Mix up the above ingredients.

Now the history of the Reuben is not a clean and easy to learn about as making them. There is some much confusion as to the true origins of the famous classic but if you are really interested this website has a lot of information http://www.rowlandweb.com/reuben/history.asp.
 

Library Funtime

Okay so I had a little too much fun on my local library's website and requested a rather obtuse amount of cookbooks...I couldn't help myself, its a sad addiction. Oh well what's done is done and I am now even more motivated to cook, bake, stew, saute, whatever strikes me! Be excited if you reading this, get ready for yummy overload and grumbling stomachs.

Gourmet Egg Muffin

A light lunch or a satisfying breakfast, eggs and English muffins are a match made in heaven, they are soooo delicious. But no one wants to drag themselves from the comforts of their slippers and adjust their bed head just to travel to a fast food drive thru for a breakfast meal with a mediocre egg stuffed between two chewing English muffins, rather making them at home is way more joyful.

So the way I gaudy-ed this up was by using a melty over-easy egg, caramelized onion, farmer's market mushrooms, and crisp English muffins. The egg explodes in your mouth, releasing a flood of golden awesome-ness, combining with the sweet tang of onion and the rich meaty mushroom....oh the yumminess....

Gourmet Egg Muffin
Pre-Heat Oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
serves: 4 (or if you have a hungry Dad in the house, he gets 2)

• 4 English muffins or 4 of those flat sandwich bun thingy-dubers
• 4 slices of American cheese (optional, I personally don't have any)
• 1 onion (purple, yellow, whatever you desire)
• Mushrooms
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper

Split the muffins with a fork and put in the oven for 15 minutes.

While those toast up slice the onion in half and then slice into thin half-rings. Chop the mushrooms and using a non-stick skillet, saute them up along with the onion with a wee bit of olive oil until they have reached a slightly golden colour. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

Wait until the muffins are done and then turn the oven to warm. Place the cheese on one half of the muffin along with some onion-mushroom mixture, leave this in the oven while you cook the eggs.

Now one could use sunny-side up eggs or poached eggs, I am better at cooking over-easy eggs so that's what I use (or if some accidents should arise while cooking turn them into scrambled). Turn the skillet to a medium heat with a little dribble of olive oil. Crack the eggs onto the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Once the whites are solid in colour use a spatula to gently slid/flip them over. Cook until the eggs are cooked (though I like mine a little runny). Turn off the heat.

Get out the muffins (the cheese should be melty) and place the egg on top. Take a bite and allow the magic of eggs consume you.

If anyone is reading...

A wise man once told me (oaky fine is was my dad) that I shouldn't waste all my recipes at once so I am going to go down to a post a week rather thatn one a day (yeah ona day was pusshing it, I can't help it I was excited). Maybe when people start to read the blog I will increase my post-age but until then my 3 loyal friends, one post a week :)

Ahhh the magic of the Sandwich

My parents and I did not get home for lunch until 3 o' clock. We were a wee bit grumpy due to our grumbly stomachs. In order for the tense atmosphere to evaporate a quick lunch was in order.

We toatsted chiabata bread spread on some Olive tapanade (see earlier post), lettuce and fresh tomato. My dad also spread thickly strained greek yogurt on his or (if you are my mom) feta cheese.

Point is it was sooooo yummy and tasted like it took hours to make :)

Olive Tapenade

Olive tapenade is an intensely flavorful spread. Made with capers or olives it originated in the Mediterranean. Olives and capers were brought to the Mediterranean from the island of Crete by Greek explorers. The name tapenade stems from Provence term tapeneï meaning caper. The recipe my mom showed me how to make uses Kalamata olives and I have included a recuipes using you capers if you so wish. Tapenade is wonderfully easy to make and stores in the fridge for over a month. It contains spectacular bursts of flavor and its a fun special touch for wraps and sandwiches.

Olive Tapenade:

(This filled a 16oz jar with a little extra besides)

• approximately 2 (drained) cups of Kalamata olives
• 1 big clove of garlic
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of pesto OR a handful of basil

Read the following directions very very VERY carefully: blend in a food processor until it reaches a paste like consistency...okay you didn't have to read that carefully...

Variation: You can make a Green Tapenade too. Instead of kalamata olives substitute 2 (drained) cups of Sicilian green olives, and along with the garlic and sun dried tomatoes add 2 drained tablespoons of capers, tablespoon of Dijon mustard and the rind and juice of one lemon.

You're done! All you had to do was push a button and now your on your way to show off uber fancy-shmancy sounding lunches at school/work due to this extremely handy condiment.

Easy and Scrumptious Flautas

"Lazy, Lazy Sundaaay. Lazy Lazy Sundaaaaaaaaay!"
Is that not how the U2 song goes? Oh well, but today was an idle day, calling for an idle meal....flautas.

Being that it is summer and our house is full of colourful veggies, my mom and I decided Pico De Gallo was in order as well.
The recipe used today:

• 2 red and ripe tomatoes
• 1 tiny green tomato
• 1 fourth of an onion
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 banana pepper
• desired amount of red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper
• 1 splash/ 1 tablespoon of vinegar

Dice up the first 5 ingredients then mix in the latter seasonings. You can also add cucumber or any other variety of pepper you wish, Pico allows for much fun and freedom and you always get: yummmmm....each flavor so distinct and fresh :) *me melting into a pile of joy*

Now the main course:

Flautas:

(makes 4):
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farentheit

• 
  
  1 15oz can black beans (if you can find no or reduced sodium use that)
• 
  
  Salt and pepper
• 
  
  1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon garlic chili paste
• 
  
  4 tortillas/wraps

Rinse the black beans and put in a bowl, large enough for you to mix in. Add seasonings (more or less to your taste). Squish it all together with you hands (a goopey process but fun). Divide the mixture evenly among the 4 tortillas top with desired amount of cheese, roll tightly and bake for between 15 - 20 minutes.

*you can do the same thing with chicken (just don't mix in garlic chili paste) and shredded pork (again no chili paste but add some cinnamon)*

Serve with salsa, Pico de Gallo, and chutneys :)