29 Jul 2011

Tomato Cucumber Couscous Salad

This is a refreshing and easy salad.  Furthermore, it is a welcome addition to a summer barbecue, as it goes well with any type of meat.  Make this recipe your own and adapt according to your personal taste by adding raisins, olives, fresh mint or even feta cheese.  A lot of different options for this delicious recipe.

Ingredients:
-2 cups cooked couscous grains
-3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
-3/4 cup diced cucumber
-1 finely chopped garlic clove
-Handful of chopped parsley and basil
-4 tbsp olive oil
-4 tbsp lemon juice
-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-Salt & pepper

Instructions:
-In a bowl, combine and mix the couscous grain, tomato, cucumber, garlic and herbs.
-For the sauce, combine and mix in a small bowl, olive oil, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar.  Taste and adjust according to your personal taste.
-Add sauce to the salad and season with salt and pepper.
-Keep in the refrigerator and serve cold.

24 Jul 2011

Chicken Stir-fry with Hoisin Sauce

Love stir-fry, but finding the right sauce has always been my problem, however this hoisin sauce seems to do the trick.  I've made this recipe extremely simple, as I don't like to spend too much time in the kitchen (I like to spend more time eating than cooking).  You can always add minced ginger, chilli paste and any other favourite veggies such as mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, etc.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
-1 chicken breast
-1/2 red bell pepper
-1/2 cup broccoli
-1/3 cup zucchini
-2 garlic cloves
-pepper
-4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
-2 teaspoons soy sauce
-Dash of sesame oil
-1 tablespoon of oil for frying

Instructions:
-Chop chicken breast, broccoli and zucchini into bite size pieces. Julienne red bell pepper.  Mince garlic cloves.
-For the sauce, combine and mix the hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil.  Add a little water if the sauce is too strong (taste and adjust).
-In a large wok or frying pan, heat up the oil on high heat.  Add garlic and stir often.
-Add chicken and stir often for a few minutes.
-Add the vegetables, stir often.  Season everything with pepper.
-Once everything has been cooked, add sauce and stir well.
-Serve over rice.

18 Jul 2011

Crispy Zucchini Sticks


It's that time of year again, zucchini season!  My mother-in-law has planted a bunch, so I get frequent zucchini deliveries.  No complaints here, however I do need to find creative ways to cook them, otherwise we will get zucchini overload.  This is a simple and tasty way to eat zucchinis.  Rather than deep frying, baking is another alternative.


Ingredients:
-2 zucchinis
-1/3 cup flour
-1 cup panko breadcrumbs
-2 eggs
-Salt & pepper
-Oil for deep frying

Instructions:
-Cut up zucchini into sticks (about 3 inches in length).
-Season the zucchini sticks with salt and pepper.
-Toss zucchini sticks in flour.
-Dip zucchini sticks in egg.
-Coat zucchini sticks in the breadcrumbs.
-Deep fry on medium to high heat until golden brown.

Optional:
-Dip zucchini sticks in ranch dressing, marinara sauce or mayo mixture (6 tablespoons mayonnaise, 3 teaspoons lemon juice, 1-1/2 teaspoons wasabi paste).

Shelly's Garden: Shopping in My Own Backyard

La vie est belle dans notre jardin!  I don't have a green thumb, however due to the hot summers and mild winters in the south of France, plants, trees, shrubs, etc. have a way of growing on its own.  The previous owner of our home planted a lot of stuff, so we are lucky to find wonderful surprises from our humble little garden.  Not only do we get fresh items from the garden, but it's all organic and chemical free - hallelujah! - we've got enough pollution and junk in this world. 

Orange tree in December
Basket full of oranges in February

Cherry Tomatoes - planted by yours truly!
Bowl full of cherry tomatoes - yummy!
Our sky high prune tree in July
Prunes, healthy version of sweet & sour candy!
Apricot tree, which did not produce much this year :-(
Apricots from last year :-)
Wild grapevine growing on its own
Grapes, ready to eat in September
My herb garden with basil, rosemary, parsley and coriander

17 Jul 2011

Baked Barbecue Ribs


I absolutely love ribs!  I just dig in and eat it with my fingers!  My French husband looks at me with horror, as he needs to eat everything with a fork and knife (even hamburgers!).  I eat it my way and it tastes so good with this honey barbecue sauce!  Finger lickin' good! Cooking time is long, but well worth the wait. 

Ingredients:
-1 slab of ribs
-1/2 cup whiskey
-1/2 cup ketchup
-3 tbsp vinegar
-1 tsp lemon juice
-3 minced garlic cloves
-1 tbsp honey
-pepper

Instructions:
-Season ribs with pepper.
-Bake ribs in the oven at 185 degrees C for 30 minutes.
-After 30 minutes, on the rib side use a knife and cut off the membrane (like a thin layer of skin).
-Add 2 inches of water to the ribs, cover with foil and bake for another 2 hours.  While baking, check on the ribs and add water if needed.
-In the meantime, combine and mix the whiskey, ketchup, vinegar, lemon juice, honey and minced garlic cloves.

-After 2 hours, most of the water should be gone, so add sauce to the ribs and bake for another 20 minutes without the foil.  Be sure to baste the ribs with the sauce from time to time while baking.
-Serve with fries or salad.

5 Jul 2011

Apricot Glazed Chicken

Adding fruit to meat may seem strange, but it really adds a tasty spin to the dish along with beautiful colour. There are so many fruit and meat combinations that merge well together like apple and pork chops, apricots and lamb, ham and pineapple, the list goes on and on. 

Ingredients:
-4 large chicken thighs
-1 can of apricot (400 grams)
-1 package of onion soup mix (50 grams)
-1/4 cup water
-1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:
-Heat up olive oil in a pan on medium to high heat.  Add chicken and brown on each side. -In a bowl combine the water, onion soup mix and the juice of the apricots. 
-Once the chicken is browned, add the liquid mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.
-Transfer everything into a baking dish and add the apricots.
-Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes at 200 degrees C.

Optional:
-Serve with rice or couscous.
-Add some curry or cumin powder before baking.