Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Not Your Moms Grilled Cheese

When we were kids our mom's loved to make us the good ol' trusty grilled cheese with wonder bread and Kraft American slices and paired with a can of Campbell's old fashioned tomato soup right? So why not do a grown-up condensed version of that meal.. Here is my take on the grilled cheese w/tomato soup.



 What it is-

Sourdough, sharp cheddar, sweet grape tomatoes, garlic, chili flakes, and other herbs.



What you need-

  • Sourdough bread slices
  • Sharp cheddar cheese
  • Grape tomatoes
  • Butter (or your favorite butter substitute)
  • Minced garlic
  • Any herbs and spices you like

What you do -

  • Butter BOTH sides of the bread.
  • Herb and spice BOTH sides. 
  • Stack cheese and sliced grape tomatoes evenly.
  • Heat up a medium frying pan on medium add a bit of olive oil, after 15 seconds place the composed sandwich in the pan 
  • Cover. 
  • Stay near and check often. 
  • Flip the sandwich(after about 2 mins) - This is something that is not easy to explain, your sammi may try to fall apart, but you will get it eventually.

In the end the cheese will be melted but the tomatoes will not be mushy


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Falafal Salad w/homemade Tzatziki

This salad was so Yummy that I HAD to share the recipe.
First of all I had some tzatziki that I had made earlier in the week you can get that recipe here
FYI this is an individual serving.

What you will need -

1 cup of torn Romain lettuce
5 Grape tomatoes halved
3 white button mushrooms sliced
1/4 cup of prepared couscous (follow the instructions on the box)
1/4 of a cucumber diced
1 small sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese
3 falafals (pre-packaged Trader Joe's)
and a tiny handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, also known as Italian parsley.

What you will do-

Throw the Romain lettuce in the bottom of the bowl, then on one side pile in the prepared couscous, on the side without the couscous throw in the rest of the veggies, feta, and parsley then top with the tzatziki. Put the three falafal on top of the veggies and then take a photo! Lastly, mix it all together and enjoy!

Monday, July 18, 2011

A second visit to Lanesplitters (East Bay)

The "SMALL" Herbavore with added pesto

The "SMALL" Lanesplitter

The "SMALL" Garbage Pile Pie

Last night's lasagna leftovers making dinners for our future...

This is just an idea of what it looks like before I've finished them all


 I take the leftover lasagna noodles and boil them to VERY aldente  then I add the prepared ricotta with spinach(recipe will be linked) then I spread the ricotta  up and down the one noodle about two inches from the top and bottom of the noodle and I basically do that with the rest of the ingredients. Tomato meat sauce, and Mozzarella cheese. Then I roll it long wise like you see below..
Just before I wrap it vertically, this is what it looks like.
 Then place them in a pan side by side and then I put more sauce and some cheese.. And yes, you will notice there is cheddar on them, I happen to love the taste of sharp cheddar with a tangy tomato sauce.

Finished project before I added sauce and covered it for the freezer

I don't have an end result because I put it in the freezer for another day.

Tawnya's Tzatziki Recipe

First step, and what makes mine unique:

I grow my own green onions then I slice about 3 stalks of them and then sauteƩ them before I cool them and then add them to the Cuisinart with the other ingredients.

This is:

16oz of Trader Joe's Plain Greek Yogurt, strained through a cheese cloth to get rid of the extra moisture.
1 cucumber partly skinned but I keep the seeds some people don't, then rough chopped
a small handful (about 10) grape tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon zest (optional, if you don't have a lemon replace with cider viengar, or if you don't have cider vinegar, throw caution to the wind and just use any acid (except balsalmic vinegar, its too sweet and syrupy, also, you don't need to add any zest if its not available just focus on the juice lemon or a vinegar).
a bit of course ground pepper and 1/8th of a teaspoon of siracha
I throw in a tablespoon of feta for creaminess and for salt then after I blend it, I add salt to taste.
Fresh herbs are important in this one I used a bit of fresh basil with a touch of cilantro. For that fresh taste and for the look.
at this point our green onions are cooled and should be added as well.


 Pulse the Cuisinart until your preferred consistency, I like creamy but chunky












And this is what you're left with.






Now this is a little step outside of traditional tzatziki but it still uses traditional flavors and its SO good! :)

Reds Java House

Double Cheese Burger

Best food for a great price to suit anyone's appetite from the pickiest eaters to those of us who just like a to nosh. It's under the Bay Bridge on the Embarcadero, its a great place to take people visiting the Bay Area or to grab some good food and some brews before a Giants game. They have a full bar in the back, outdoor seating, AND they sell PBR's by the bucket, what's not to like?

Chili Cheese Fries


Red's Java House
Pier 30
Bryant & Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA
94107
(415) 777-5626
Visit them on Yelp