Martha Mondays: Melon with Honeyed Yogurt

Thanks to Ana at Sweet Almond Tree for making this week’s pick, Melon with Honeyed Yogurt. We had this last night. I thought it was pretty good. I’ve never served yogurt with melon, but it was very refreshing. Mr. MarthaAndMe did not enjoy it since he does not like yogurt and cannot be persuaded that it really is good. Definitely a nice way to dress up melon to serve it.

There’s no Martha Mondays next week since it is July 4th! I hope everyone has a great holiday!

Charred Romaine

This recipe title sounds like I am describing a disaster, but actually this is a real recipe. This is one of the recipe cards in July Living (not online yet). I tinkered with the recipe a tiny bit. The basic idea is you make a salad by grilling romaine lettuce, so I followed that part of the recipe. It says to brush the leaves with oil then grill 4 minutes a side until slightly charred.

I had a grilled romaine salad at a restaurant last year and LOVED it, so I was anxious to try this. We followed the instructions exactly. One piece turned out pretty well. The others just wilted and turned brown. I made a quick vinaigrette and shaved some Parmesan cheese to put on this. I think you need really thick robust leaves and I also think you might be better to grill the hell out of it for a minute on each side so it chars but doesn’t wilt. I’m not sure. I need to try this a few more times. It has potential. I really like the flavor but I do not like mushy wilted lettuce. Have you ever tried this?

Martha Mondays

Sweet Almond Tree has chosen Melon with Honeyed Yogurt for Monday’s project.

Corn and Arugula

I whipped up this quick, simple, summer veggie dish and it was delicious.

1/4 cup chopped sweet onion

2 ears of corn, kernels cut off

2 cups arugula

pinch dry mustard

salt and pepper

1/2 garlic clove, chopped

2 tbsp chicken stock

1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Cook the onion in a little olive oil until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the arugula is wilted and the cheese melted. I wasn’t kidding! It is simple!

 

Martha Mondays: Granitas

Tiny Skillet was our selection person this week and she chose granitas.  I made the strawberry one. I did not add vodka and I did not make the syrup with the balsamic to pour over it because that sounded just awful to me! I thought this was going to be easy to make, but I have to admit that the time scraping with a fork was truly a pain in the butt! The granita was tasty though- kind of like shave ice or a popsicle or sorbet. Something I have never had before. Definitely refreshing a light. This was fun to try.

Iowa Brownies

I haven’t posted a major disaster in a long time, so I was definitely due. I found this recipe for Iowa Brownies in the Penzey’s spice catalog. They sounded good – made with sour cream — something really different. Teen Martha (who is interning part-time at a lab at the med school this summer but has whole days with nothing to do other than download music for me and watch My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding) decided to give it a whirl since I am in the middle of madness trying to write a book in a month (details to come).  Total disaster. The recipe says to bake in a 9×13 jellyroll pan. It just barely fit and then it overflowed all over the oven. In mid-bake we (and by we I mean Mr. MarthaAndMe who gets called in for the really big disasters) transferred to a 9 inch square baking pan. Huge mess. It’s all over my oven which smells like burning cake whenever I turn it on now.

The frosting didn’t work either. It was dry and clumpy and she had to add more liquid. The end result was a brownie that tasted like cake (did not have brownie texture at all) and frosting no one liked. Total fail. I don’t think this recipe was tested by Penzey’s.

Greek Lasagna

My family loves Greek food so I came up with this to whet their appetites! It’s creamy and packed with veggies. A terrific change from traditional lasagna.

9 lasagna noodles, cooked until very al dente

1 cooked chicken breast, chopped

1 cup broccoli, roughly chopped

1/2zucchini sliced then quartered

1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, roughly chopped and mostly defrosted

6 baby bella  mushrooms, sliced

1  four oz package feta cheese

2 cups spaghetti sauce

For the white sauce:

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1/2 package light cream cheese

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 tsp Greek seasoning

salt and pepper

Cook the garlic in the oil about 30 seconds, then whisk in the flour, cook another 30 seconds, then whisk in the milk. Add the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir until all the cheese melts and sauce is thick. Add the seasoning and the salt and pepper.

Cover the bottom of a 6 by 12 pan with a few tablespoons of red sauce. Lay 3 noodles down. Top the noodles with 1/3 of the white sauce. Top with 1/2 chicken, and half the veggies and 1/3 of the feta and 1/3 red sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining 3 noodles. On the top place the remaining red sauce, white sauce and feta. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Take the foil off and let it cook another 5-10 minutes until slightly browned on top.

Martha Mondays 6/20: Granitas

Tiny Skillet has chosen granitas. She will be making ginger plum, but feel free to choose your own here.  I’ve never made a granita so this should be fun.

Martha Mondays: Strawberry Shortcake

Perfecting Pru chose this. Loved this! I halved the recipe and mine baked in far less the time indicated, but it was very good. And that’s saying a lot because I like my mom’s shortcake, which is more like a shortbread. I served this with some whipped cream. Very yummy! The shortcake was crunchy on top and soft in the middle. Delicious! Local strawberries are coming this week. I may have to make this again!

Chicken Salad with Pea Shoots

I recently found a source for pea shoots and now I’m finding lots of ways to use them. They are fantastic just on sandwiches. I wanted to find a way to have them for dinner though, so I can up with this fantastic (and easy!) chicken salad

1 poached chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced thin

1 small shallot, chopped

1 tbsp chopped parsley

10 thin slices of zucchini, chopped

1 tsp stone ground mustard

3 tbsp light mayo

salt and pepper

2 tsp good olive oil

1/2 tsp white vinegar

2 cups pea shoots

Mix the chicken and vegetables in a bowl. Add everything else except pea shoots and stir. Refrigerate. Cut the pea shoots into quarters, and toss. Place pea shoots on plate and top with 1/3 of the salad. (Serves 3)