Easy Fennel and Spinach Spanakopita

 

I had just the right leftovers to make spanakopita.  Although I thought that it might be a difficult recipe having never made if before, mainly due to the rolling technique, I was wrong.  It is really easy.  If you like spanakopita, try this recipe!  And Fennel is coming into season right now in the pacific northwest.  It is peeking up out of my herb garden right now, teasing me...

Easy Fennel and Spinach Spanakopita

1 package of frozen spinach, unthawed and diced

1 large onion

1/4-1/2 pound feta cheese.  I used sheep feta, my favorite from Trader Joe's

1 egg, mix it well

hand full of fresh fennel, diced

1 stick of butter, melted for brushing on to the filo dough

1 package of fillo dough pastry.  You will only need about half of the package.  FYI: I found that there are at least 3 spellings for fillo: filo, fillo, and phyllo.  No worries, they are all the same product!

Start by caramelizing an onion.  Cut it into thin strips and fry, stirring, in a pan with olive oil until soft and brown, add diced and thawed out (previously frozen spinach), the full package.  Continue to cook for a couple more minutes.  Set aside.  When the mixture is cool, add the feta cheese, crumbling it into small pieces.  Stir in mixed egg and fresh diced fennel.  You will use this mixture for the inside of the spanakopita. 

Preheat oven to 350 F Bake.  Oil a cookie sheet to place the spanakopita on.  Melt a stick of butter and have a pastry brush on hand.

 

You can find the fillo pastry in the frozen section of many large grocery stores.  Unthaw the fillo dough ahead of time.  Once you have made the spinach mixture as described above, it will be time to cut the fillo dough.  Roll it out flat.  Cut a 3 inch by 11 inch strip.  Use pastry brush to spread a thin layer of butter over the strip.  The butter will help the folding process.  Place a spoonful of spinach mixture about 1 inch from the top of the strip.  Now you will fold the fillo into a triangle pastry.  Fold the end over the spinach to form a triangle.  The continue to fold it into triangles, much like you would fold a flag, all the way to the end.  Brush a little butter on the top of the pastry before putting in oven.  See diagram below:

picture courtesy of http://lldzines.com/spanakopita/folded.htm

  

Above: spinach, fennel, feta, egg, onion mixture

  

Above, melted butter for painting on the fillo

  

Spinach mixture on the fillo dough, pre-wrapping.  

Below: wrapping the fillo

  

  

Bon Appetite!

 

  

Bird's Nest Salad fresh from the garden

We are a bit late this year in reaping the rewards of our garden, but finally! I have a recipe for a fresh garden salad complete with 3 different types of lettuce, red clover, chives, and broccoli (all form our garden!). Red clover is a blood purifier according to herbal wisdom, and a healthy colorful addition to any salad. It tastes pretty good too. This salad was so pretty that I took pictures of it in several different locations. I liked the idea of it being a bird's nest so I placed it in a tree. Top it off with a yummy homemade dressing and you have a healthy energy food.

Ingredients:

2-3 types of lettuce fresh from your garden or the farmer's market (try to use colorful reds and greens)
6-8 red clover heads
1/2 of a broccoli head, chopped into bite size
handful of chives diced, fresh from your garden
1/4 cup roasted red peppers (I used bottled variety)
any other edibles that are growing in your garden that you feel inspired to add
Homemade vinaigrette dressing, try this one: Easy Homemade Sweet Balsamic Dressing)

Wash and spin lettuce leaves, place in a earthy bowl (wood is great) and top with clover, broccoli, chives, red peppers, and toss with salad dressing. May be eaten in a tree.

Summer's Coming Quesadillas

These quesadillas are delicious. Summer is right around the corner, at least by the calendar, and the leeks in my garden are close to going to seed. I wanted to use most of them before they go to seed (they taste more tender before) so I came up with this recipe. I cook the corn tortillas with jack cheese on the stove top and in a separate pan I cook the leek and ground turkey. This is great with guacamole and green or red salsa and shredded romaine lettuce. You can keep it simple and quick or add lots of toppings. Here goes!

Turkey-Leek topping:

1 pound of ground turkey
1 leek, use the green and white part, slice thin
2 TBS butter
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp powdered garlic
1/2 tsp mild red pepper
salt to taste

Heat the pan up with butter and add the leek on medium heat. cook for 5 minutes , stirring once or twice. Add the turkey and stir. Then add the spices (garlic, cumin, red pepper salt), stir, cover with a lid and cook until turkey is done, 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile . . .
Cheese Quesadillas:

5 corn tortillas
1/4 pound jack cheese

We use small corn tortillas, add them to a buttered heated on medium pan. Place grated cheese on each tortilla, cover pan and let cook until the cheese has melted. Place each finished tortilla on a plate and add toppings as you like.

Here's a wonderful and easy guacamole:

2 avocados
1/2 small lime
salt to taste
pinch of cumin
pinch of powdered garlic

Mash avocados in a bowl, add 1/2 squeezed lime juice and spices, stir and serve with quesadillas.

Sunday Morning Egg & Kale Scramble

Easy, easy, easy!

You need: eggs, tender kale, and optional feta and pine nuts

For a family of four mix 6 eggs thoroughly. Dice fresh, young kale greens, put to the side. Heat a pan on medium with olive oil . Add kale and scrambled eggs at the same time, cover and turn heat down a notch or two. Give them a couple minutes and then stir frequenly to prevent the eggs from hardening too quickly. You want soft moist eggs and the kale should also be soft.

The eggs are great with a pinch of feta and some pine nuts. Both are completely optional. Enjoy with a cup of nettle-green tea (see recipes).

Golden Creamy Coconut Rice

This rice adds a wonderful fragrance and flavor to meals. Here it is:

2 cups jasmin rice (or if you prefer brown rice or mixed rice use that just add a little bit more water.
2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 tsp tumeric, optional (adds a beautiful yellow color to rice and is a healthy addition)

Heat water, coconut milk, and tumeric on high. When the mixture boils add rice and stir. Turn heat to low-medium, so that it is lightly boiling. You should be able to leave the pan's lid on without it boiling over. Let the rice cook covered until done. Try to limit the number of times that you peek inside. The steam really helps cook this rice and keeps it soft and fluffy.

Garlic Halibut Saute with Steamed Broccoli

You will need:
a halibut steak of any size
4-5 garlic cloves
Soy Sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos or Tamari
2-3 TBS olive oil
1-2 heads of broccoli

Add olive oil to (preferably) a cast iron pan on medium heat. Add Halibut steak to the pan, skin side down. Put garlic cloves through a garlic press or chop finely. Add all the garlic to the top of the halibut. After a couple of minutes add 3-6 TBS soy sauce to the pan. Leave a lid over the halibut so the steam can keep the fish moist as it cooks. Turn halibut over when there is only a few minutes of cooking remaining and add broccoli. I use my cooking intuition to know when the fish is done. You may choose to check it periodically to determine you desired level of "done." I prefer that the broccoli is lightly cooked and still crunchy. I just cooked this dish yesterday and I overcooked the broccoli so that it was very soft, and it was really quite delicious, as it took on the flavor of the fish, soy sauce, and garlic. So I'm sure you will enjoy this meal either way!

I serve this fish with any of the following:
Polenta, green salad, or coconut rice; the latter of which is particularly good (see my postings for recipe).

Red Stroller Pasta

After a hour of errands in town and an hour of my car's lights on, my car would not start. My daughters and I filled up our red stroller with groceries and walked home. This began my process of creating this rich red pasta sauce. I like to pair the pasta sauce with a quinoa-corn noodle blend. This is an easy and quick recipe!

36 oz tomato sauce
1 medium onion
2 TBS olive oil
4 cloves garlic
10-15 mushrooms
4 TBS red table wine
1# ground turkey or 1# your choice sausage
several pinches of fresh or dried thyme
salt or tamari to taste

Saute onion with olive oil on medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms to onion when onion is softened. Add red wine to mushroom-onion when mushroms are softened. Cook for 1 more minute then add to lightly boiling tomato sauce. Add turkey or sausage meat in small balls (or sliced, in the case of the sausage) to tomato sauce. Start cooking noodles of your choice.

Serve pasta sauce with thyme on the top or side and a green salad. Pour yourself a glass of red wine and enjoy!