Made at home

Salad topped with a fried egg!

Posted on by Brian and Jim

i love a nice salad topped with a fried egg!

  
This boy has a base of baby butter lettuce from Maggie’s farm

With a few leaves of chopped chard, tomatoes, avocado and cheese…and some sliced sweet pepper

 
Then what would a Brian salad be without beans–black beans because I’m going to use a salsa based dressing

  
The dressing is sherry vinegar and salsa from the farmers market

   
 
The egg is fried/steamed in my favorite olive oil

  
This stuff has a very very nice flavor and this qt last me about a month…you will overpay at whole foods or elsewhere I’ve seen…I have mine on Amazon subscription at a great price

Throw on the eggs

  
Top with dressing at the table

  
She’s done! 🙂

Shiitake jerky round one

Posted on by Brian and Jim

so shitake jerky is like 8.50 plus shipping for two ounces so I’m trying to make my own

These guys turned out nicely chewy but not as flavorful as I’d like.   
Marinating in Tamari and chipotle with a hint of smoke and Worcestershire 

  Drying in 200 degree oven 
Finished

The flavored needs built up…more garlic and more salt (since it was low sodium Tamari)

They are still good 🙂

Gluten free personal pizzas

Posted on by Brian and Jim

So I found relatively inexpensive pizza crusts that were gluten free at Sprouts yesterday and tried them out tonight …. They were not bad!

Threw together avocado and bean and tomato salad on the side.

  

 
These were 3.99!  Usually like 8-10 dollars for one! Find them at Sprouts

  
A couple sweet pepper rings, kalamatas and jack cheese from  Spring hill that I pick up at the farmers market

  
  
Plus the side salad 

  
So good to be home and back to avocados on the menu daily!

If you have been paying attention you see bean and cheese combos in the meal almost every day I cook at home….dairy and beans/legumes help make a complete set of proteins.

Spinach with eggs

Posted on by Brian and Jim

Well…it worked but not as planned..

  

  
That’s the end result above…

I started with an idea from Bon appetite or somewhere with spinach and eggs and cheese

So today I bought spinach

  
Looked okay but envisioned tomato…but I felt not enough spinach so I added zucchini

  
Then simmered covered

Prepped cheese

  
Preheated over for bread

  
So everything simmered down to much and I had little  

 
So I threw in lettuce and let it wilt

Then added the cannellini

Added in eggs and covered again

  
Served it up with the cheese on top

  
Next time I’ll try with mostly spinach…just a lot more!

Bastardized puttanesca 

Posted on by Brian and Jim

haha

Still haven’t been to the store but I saw basic puttanesca stuff in the cabinet so I added more.

  Frying with the anchovies are some sweet peppers
  
Garden grown tomatoes joined in with sun dried tomatoes…a trio of olives-black kalamata and green.

Added white beans and liquid for their starch and aminoes…

  
Topped off with some micro planed hard Italian cheese and capers.  And it’s done!

And it’s vegetarian and gluten free!

(It would have been perfect with a ten dollar loaf of gluten free Italian bread but…no!)

A post Kenvention dinner

Posted on by Brian and Jim

so straight home from the airport after being gone 6 days/5 nights….

What for dinner?

I have cannellini beans, cabbage, smoked jack cheese, home grown tomatoes, celery, shishito peppers and out came some cabbage salads not quite coleslaw…and roasted shishitos 

   
 
Dinner is served.   The most healthy thing I’ve had since Tuesday.   

Shakshouka

Posted on by Brian and Jim

jim has this at hummus bar and grill and I’ve been making it since…I still can’t get it right but I keep trying and keep not following a recipe

  
Peppers and tomatoes and onion

  
 
Add eggs

  
The hatch chilis were spicy

  
So one day I will nail this!

Gazpacho Saturday

Posted on by Brian and Jim

i had planned on this during the hellish heat wave last week but didn’t have tomato juice.

I have a base recipe from food network…that I tweak

Basically take some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and onion and bell pepper and purée

  
Reserving some of each to add in for crunch later

The reserves:

  
Then just put all together with 1/4 cup evoo and 1/4 cup white balsamic ( I used half ginger white balsamic and half regular) and salt and pepper And tomato juice…I use low sodium and I vary the proportions to taste

  
It tasted fine but the color was off this time…prolly my pepper choices …

I had an avocado that needed eaten and we needed protein so on the side I had bean and avocado and a gluten free baguette

   
 
I used the natural starch from the cannellini juice with a scant amount of olive oils and red wine vinegar and my go to penzeys Greek seasoning
Ps…I grew those tamatoes!