mushroom and pepper frittata

03 Thursday May 2012

Tags

beet greens, breakfast, eggs, frittata, mushrooms, onions, parmesan cheese, peppers, spinach, Swiss chard, vegetable frittata, zucchini

There are so many flavor combinations and ways to make a frittata! For an extra sizzle of salt, try adding chopped bacon or prosciutto ham. Fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano or parsley add a nice tangy layer of flavor. Also, instead of the peppers you can add 1 cup of chopped spinach, Swiss chard or beet greens. A wonderful, heart breakfast or served as an appetizer with a glass of white wine.

Mushroom and Pepper Frittata

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 organic, free-range eggs

half a red onion, diced

half a red pepper, diced

half a yellow pepper, diced

half a small zucchini, diced

8 shitake mushrooms, diced

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped, for garnish

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven on the broil setting.

In a medium bowl, add the eggs, salt and pepper and beat lightly with a fork. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in an oven-proof nonstick skillet and sauté the onions on medium heat until they are translucent. Add the peppers, zucchini and mushrooms and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Pour the egg mixture over top, cover and cook for 5 minutes, (the top will still be a bit runny and uncooked). Sprinkle the cheese over the frittata and then put the skillet into the oven and broil until the top is fully cooked and the cheese is beginning to brown.

Slide onto a plate, garnish with the chives and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Serves 2 for breakfast or 4 for appetizers.

paella for dinner

13 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in cook

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casserole, chicken, one-dish meal, paella, peas, peppers, rice, rice dish, sausage, scallops, shrimp, Spanish cooking

I used to think that paella was a complicated dish to make and that I needed that special pan to make it properly. Recently I experimented and found that paella is actually very easy and worth the effort in preparing it! The name of this dish comes from the shallow round pan or ‘Paellera’ that it is traditionally cooked in. However, any shallow pan will make a suitable substitute.

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 boned chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 lb prawns and scallops, raw and shells removed

1 cup spicy sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces

half each of a yellow, red and green pepper, diced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups long grain rice (I use scented or jasmine rice)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup frozen peas

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Soak rice in cold water for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse a few times under cold running water.

Heat olive oil in a large wok or pan and add chicken. Cook over medium-hugh heat until golden brown. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to help remove excess oil. Add peppers, parsley, prawns, scallops and sausage to the pan and stir-fry over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Set aside in a separate bowl.

Heat the extra tablespoon oil in the pan and add garlic, onions. Cook on medium heat for a few minutes and then add the rice. Stir until all of the grains of rice are well-coated with the oil. Add the turmeric and stock and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid.

Bring stock to a boil and stir. Then reduce the heat and allow mixture to simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken on top of rice, cover and allow mixture to cook for another 10 minutes.

Add the peppers, sausage and seafood mixtures and the peas. Cover and continue to cook on low heat for 10 minutes, or until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove from heat and allow to stand for another 5 minutes. Separate rice grains with a fork just before serving on a large platter garnished with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

October Harvest

27 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by Delena Rose in garden

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beets, harvest, leeks, onions, peppers, Swiss chard, tomatoes, vegetable soup, vegetables

Here we are at the end of October and I am still harvesting herbs and vegetables from the garden and greenhouse. The picture above features the heirloom tomatoes and peppers that I grew in the greenhouse all summer. I thought I would have been done weeks ago but there was just so much to do and with the reasonably mild temperatures (until this week) I was able to take my time in getting everything in.

I now have all of the onions (Spanish, yellow and red), leeks, potatoes, squash, peppers and tomatoes in.

I also harvested parsley, dill seed and coriander seed (they are just drying out a bit more so I will do a separate post on them). Tomorrow I will harvest the basil in the greenhouse and make a batch of pesto. I still have garlic, carrots, more beets, some hardy swiss chard and a few more cold-tolerant herbs left to harvest and then I will be done for the season. Wow! What an amazing first year!

And what do you think I did at the end of a long, cold and windy day of harvesting…?