Hello Spring

We know it is spring when we start to get strawberries in our weekly box.

I couldn't resist taking this picture after I came home from our CSA last night.  The beets were giant and were topped with a huge amount of greens (which we sauteed and ate last night.)  Doesn't looking at this make you hungry?
 

Simple Soup

When my parents were visiting us last week, I decided to prepare a Tortilla Soup for them.  This soup recipe came from a supper club that we were a part of a couple years ago.  It is simple and delicious.

Tortilla Soup
1 yellow onion
6 cloves of garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
Salt, Pepper
Olive oil
2 16 oz cans tomatos (diced in juice)
3 qts chicken stock
12 corn tortilla shells

 

- Bake corn tort shells in oven @ 350deg until golden brown
- Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil
- Add dry herbs and simmer chicken stock, tomatoes, onions, and garlic ~30 min
- Add tortillas after 30min and cook for another 30min
- Puree all ingredients in soup in blender until smooth

- Garnish w/ sour cream, cilantro, etc, if desired

I used an immersion blender rather than moving everything to our blender (which barely works anyway) to puree the soup.  I have made this with prepared taco shells and with corn tortillas.  It works either way.  If you use fresh corn tortillas, you need to brown them a bit longer in the oven than you do the taco shells.

The Wine Hunt

As I said before, Blonde Girl's father is always looking for wine that has a great taste but not a big price tag, and he has found another one that he wants to share. It is Marquis/Philips, which is a collaboration between American Dan Phillips and Australian wine makers. This big red wine contains shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc grapes. It is a full bodied fruit bomb with a long, long finish. It received a 91 from Parker's. The only negative is the high alcohol content of 16 per cent. The retail price is $17 a bottle, and in Baltimore, we have found it for $13.

Quesadilla means "quick and tasty"

It's been a while since this blog has seen a post. Sub Duck and I made a really tasty supper with Quesadillas and a green salad featuring oranges and pineapple. The Qs were a departure from some of the classic Mexican recipes. They featured mushrooms, onion, garlic, arugula and prosciutto with Gruyere cheese. (Swiss Miss Quesadillas ?)

The photo shows Duck 1 at the table. We had a bottle of Las Rocas Garnacha to accompany the meal. (thanks to the Baltimore cooks for the introduction to this tasty and inexpensive wine)

The Q's were from Everyday Food. This is yet another source of good quick meals. Even those of us who have time to spend in the kitchen appreciate quick, tasty and healthy options.

Here is how we did them:

We used 1/2 a cup of red onion, 2 cloves of garlic and a package (10 oz) of white mushrooms sliced. These were sauteed in olive oil till tender and staring to brown. This mixture was put aside in a bowel and tossed with a teaspoon of lemon juice.

We grated 1/4 pound of Gruyere and sliced 1/4 pound of the Prosciutto into thin strips.

We then put the ingredients on one half of a ten inch flour tortilla. in layers with the mix then the ham and then the cheese and topped each with the arugula leaves. The tortilla is then folded over and cooked in a fry pan with a bit of olive oil. Turn them with the sealed side down and you wont lose any of the filling.

Cut the resulting half circle into two quarter circles and serve pronto.

We dressed the salad with mint vinegar.