Cornish Hens stuffed with figs with a side of rice cooked with pine nuts and sundried tomatoes

Cornish Hens stuffed with figs with a side of rice cooked with pine nuts and sundried tomatoes

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

There are a lot of things going on with this meal – all of which were delicious. I started with more fresh figs from my yard. I marinated them in some sherry for about an hour. I removed them from the sherry and stuffed them inside a Cornish hen I had lightly salted and peppered. Cook the hens for about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Turn up the oven temp to about 400 for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking to get a nice brown in the skin.

For the rice – I used the sherry from the figs and made up for whatever liquid I needed to steam the rice. I added to the rice about 1/4 cup of pine nuts and about 1/4 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes.

I served this with some nice sourdough bread I got from Trader Joes. Admittedly this meal was a bit “fallish” for summer, but figs are fresh in summer so what are you gonna do. It was a very delicious meal and I am loving learning to use the figs from my yard.

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Mahi stir fry

Mahi stir fry

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I had a bit of mahi left in my freezer and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Once it was thawed I saw that the fillets were quite uneven so I decided it would cook more evenly if cubed than as a fillet. So in began this yummy stir fry. I marinated the fish in soy, honey, ginger and garlic. I then strung and chopped snow peas and tomatoes and then I set those aside – in the meantime I had my rice steaming away (2 cups cooked). I heated my stir fry pan, added a bit of olive oil and put in the vegetables. When they were about 2/3rds cooked, I added in the fish and the sauce. Cooked all until done. I went for presentation here so I packed the rice in a round bottom cup and put it in the center of the plate – normally I would just throw the rice into the stir fry, but I was feeling creative. All in all, this was delicious, though in my opinion the fish was a little salty – I think it could marinate for way less time as it absorbed the salt from the soy, but it still tasted delicious and I will definitely try it again. I seem to stir fry a lot more in the summer as it is a good way to use lots of vegetables together and it is super fast.

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Fresh Figs

Fresh Figs

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I am lucky to have a fig tree in my yard. Having just moved to this house, I am new to having this tree. It has been delightful. The figs are so beautiful – not to mention delicious. I have made a few things with them. The first thing I made was a fig and goat cheese pie. I sliced about 20 figs in half, drizzled balsamic vinegar over the top and then topped with crumbled goat cheese. I baked it in a ready made pie crust until it was heated through. It was so good and made a fig lover out of my sister who claims to have never had a fig before??? I will make this again if for no other reason – to get a better picture of the finished product!

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Shrimp Curry stir fry

Shrimp Curry stir fry

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

Okay – this is delicious and a very light, summery dish.

You’ll need one can of coconut milk (I used the low fat) and some red curry paste. Heat the coconut milk until it simmers and then add a tablespoon of red curry paste, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a couple of dashes of soy sauce. Let the sauce thicken a bit and then add your veggies. I used snow peas, shredded carrots, and broccoli. When the veggies are almost done, add in 1 pound of pealed shrimp and 2 cups of cooked rice. Simmer and stir in all ingredients until the shrimp is done. Top with chopped fresh basil.

The beauty of this meal is not only in the flavors, but you only need one pan to prepare the meal. This made three servings – so we had dinner and one left over for lunch.

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Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

YUM. What a fun way to enjoy summer’s bounty of fresh vegetables. This is such a simple thing to do and you can eat it as a side (as I did with some grilled chicken) or use it as a salsa.
Drain and rinse one can of black beans.
Roast or boil corn on the cob – let it cool and cut the corn off the cob
Mix black beans and corn (I used two ears of corn) add chopped tomatoes and green chilies or jalapenos for an extra kick. I also had some left over roasted red pepper that I threw into the mix. Again – it is a great and simple way to enjoy these flavors and the leftovers made a great salsa – I just added fresh cilantro and a bit of olive oil and enjoyed the leftovers with my favorite corn chips.

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Grilled Mahi and Quinoa

Grilled Mahi and Quinoa

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I have been a bad blogger, I know. Something about actually having the time to sit down and catch up has pretty much kept me from blogging at all. Rest assured I have been doing plenty of cooking and my ever increasing scale is proof of that. This dinner was from a couple of weeks ago and while it isn’t anything particularly special, I loved the colors. It is a simple pan grilled mahi fillet served along side fresh steamed broccoli and red quinoa. I flavored the mahi with garlic and olive oil and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper. After the fish was done I squeezed a bit of lemon over the fish and the broccoli – simple goodness, exactly what summer cooking is all about.

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Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

Click here to see what I did with some fresh ricotta…

Saturday morning breakfasts don’t get any better than this!

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Can She Bake a Cherry Pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy…Yes She Can!

What do you do with fresh cherries that are quickly going south?? Of course! You make a pie! I don’t have a fabulous history with pie baking, so I was really squeamish when I started this project. But I think it turned out just fine! Click over and take a look at the post to see how easy it was!

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A Variation on Eggs Benedict…

I know it’s been a long time since I posted. Diane has been single handedly holding down the fort for quite a while now. So it seems I have a lot of catching up to do!
I recently wrote a post about variations on the theme of Eggs Benedict. If you’re a fan like I am, click over and take a look! I know the pic is crappy, but sometimes delicious food is ugly food!

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