Showing posts with label nuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nuts. Show all posts

Monday, July 1, 2013

Truffled Farro Salad

Being the resident foodie at work, people tend to ask me what I'm having for lunch. One day I had a conversation that went a little something like this:

"What are you eating?"
"Farro"
"Pharaoh?"
"No..."




vs





Ingredients

  • 1 cup farro
  • Handful of arugula
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms (a variety of wild mushrooms would be delish)
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 1 tbs truffle oil
  • 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 bunch asparagus
  • dried thyme
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1/4 cup parmesan chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • handful of walnuts
  • salt and pepper

Directions


Preheat oven 350.

Place farro in a pot and fill with cold water until covered by 1-2 inches. After 20 minutes drain the farro.

Add the same amount of water back to the pot and add a dash of salt. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. If there is any leftover water after cooking you will need to drain.

While the farro is cooking cut asparagus spears on the bias in thirds. Toss with enough olive oil to coat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake asparagus on a foil lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, stirring once or twice until tender.

Slice mushrooms, but not too thinly. Think 4-5 pieces for a larger cremini. Chop the onion.

Heat 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil in a pan on medium and cook the onion for 3 minutes. In a bowl mix your mushrooms with the truffle oil, then add to the pan with the butter. Cook for 5-10 minutes then sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper. Make sure you don't cook the mushrooms for too long. You want them tender but still with body.

Remove from heat and cool in a bowl. Add cooked asparagus.

Place farro into a mixing bowl and add your arugula. When you mix it in, the arugula should wilt. Set aside to cool.

When farro and vegetables reach room temperature, you can combine them.

Add cheese and parsley then mix.

Toast handful walnut halves in your mushroom pan to toast, chop, and top each serving.



Shout out to my hunnie for inventing this one!!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Oatmeal Bars to Replace Your Granola Bar Habit


It's back to school time and that means finding snacks for your kids that are affordable and healthy. Granola bars were always a go-to snack for my family, so I decided to create a DIY alternative. These oatmeal bars are filled with nutrients, are super easy to make, and can be adapted to your taste.

You can choose different nuts, fruits, and seeds. I've been enjoying a mixture of walnuts, flax, cranberries and dates. I also add some chocolate chips for sweetness.

Here is a basic list to help you with the proportions:
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 
  • 1/2 cup dried fruit 
  • 1/4 cup seeds 
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips 
  • 1 tsp cinnamon 
  • pinch of salt 
  • 1 1/4 cups milk 
  • 1 egg 
  • 1 tsp vanilla 
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
  3. Grab a 2-cup measuring cup, add your milk, crack and egg into the cup and add a dash of vanilla.
  4. Pour your wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until combined.
  5. Pour into a square baking dish lined with parchment paper.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes.
  7. Cut into 9 squares and wrap for grab-and-go ease. You can store in the fridge, which keeps the chocolate firm. Yum! 


Friday, May 18, 2012

If You Give a Lea a Cookie...

She will want a dozen more.

While I LOVE all desserts, I am a total cookie monster. When I first started baking in my teens, I had a few specialties. Hands down, my most popular was the chocolate chip cookies from The Joy of Cooking. My dad has a huge sweet tooth and still asks for them to this day.

This Mother's Day, I was in charge of the desserts. So I immediately thought...COOKIES! Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies and there are a trillion recipes out there, many claiming to be "the best." But who wants to keep making the same ones over and over and over? Not me. So instead, I made hazelnut toffee chocolate chip cookies.



Let's just say, the moment I ate the first one I turned blue and fuzzy. Thank goodness the recipe made about four dozen because no one wanted to stop eating these delicious morsels. My counter and kitchen table looked like a sea of cookies -- pre-scooped oven ready on sheets and freshly baked on cooling racks. Absolute heaven.

So here are my tips for this recipe:

  • Since you need to put the oatmeal in a food processor, do the nuts in it too after you take the oatmeal out. Then do the toffee in there too. Make it easy on yourself -- no chopping by hand!
  • Get a cookie scoop. It will be your best friend, just trust me. Plus each one will be the perfect size, making baking time easier.
General tips:
  • Bring your ingredients to room temperature. You have probably heard this before, but it really is the number one rule for baking (with some exceptions). There is no way you can properly cream your butter and sugar without this step. If you are patient and do this, your cookies will be a lot softer and won't get stale as quickly.

C is for _____. Come on, go bake these already!