CNYEats A Taste of Utica White Bean Tomato Salad
This was the PERFECT lunch following an enjoyable 26 1/2 mile bike ride around Utica. It was fresh, power packed with bean protein, healthy fats, and garden fresh tomatoes and herbs. Labor day will soon be here. This would be a delightful dish to bring to that family and friends picnic.
On page 70 of our book, A Taste of Utica, Mario posts this weeks recipe
White Bean and Tomato Salad – serves 4
- 1 15 oz can white beans (cannellini beans, white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup red onion, chopped *I forgot to buy the red onion and used 3 green onions.
- 1 cup (1/2 pound) tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1/2 tsp each basil, thyme, and oregano (I used 1 TBS each fresh herbs)
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper *I added about 1/4 tsp salt
Combine all ingredients. Toss gently to mix.
Chill until ready to serve.
The following are memories from Terry Lewis (Cavallo)
I remember the Ice man who use to come around the wagon and give us kids a chunk of ice on hot summer days. I also remember that you could go to a shop on Kossuth and buy fresh poultry. You could watch them pluck all the feathers off the chickens as people bought them.
I can remember going to the movies at the Rialto on Monday nights and getting dishes for the price of your admission to the theater. You had to go every week if you wanted a complete set of dishes.
I remember going out on the weekends dancing and then going to Uncle Henrys for breakfast. That was the in place then. Everyone went there for breakfast. Breakfast always consisted of Eggs, Steak and Greens.
Happy memories from Terry.
Next week, we get into the SEAFOOD section of our cook book. Look forward to five delicious recipes: Linguine with clams, Baked Haddock, Tilapia, Grilled Scallops, and Foil Roasted Cod with Herbed Vegetables.
Joanne
Quality Run and Green Tomato Muffins
I was determined to put the hamstring to the test today with a quality paced run. It held up. There was a little bit of ache in the hamstring but nothing that prevented a good run. I was able to do 7.32 miles at 8:42 pace. There was no way to avoid the hills since I went through the golf course and up to the eagle. The run down from the eagle is always a blast. Love that down hill.
Since it’s such a gorgeous morning, Ted and I are taking the bikes to breakfast and then log some cycling miles. There’s only a little bit of hamstring involved in cycling so I’ll depend on my quads for strength.
Are you doing any exercise today or is Sunday your day off?
MUFFINS TODAY
If you have your own garden and it is growing great guns this summer, then maybe you are over whelmed in tomatoes. After all, most garden growers have tomatoes in their crop, right? Now the bushes are heavy with fruit. You want to relieve the bush of some of the burden and you pick the green tomatoes.
Do you ripen them in your window? Do you make fried green tomatoes? (that’s another post 
) or do you make Green Tomato Muffins for the upcoming Labor Day picnic with family and friends? MAKE THE MUFFINS!
The following recipe looks like a whole lot of ingredients but you only use one bowl and use a spoon, NOT your electric or hand held mixer.
Green Tomato Muffins – Makes 12 large muffins plus 1 mini loaf.
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg *or simply increase cinnamon to 1 1/2 tsp.
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup raisins *remember, if you have anyone who doesn’t like raisins in the family, puree them and THEN add to the mixture. You really should use them in some form in this recipe.
- 2 cups green tomatoes, diced
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl and using a spoon, mix together the sugars, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla.
When the above is well blended, add the flours, baking powder, salt, spices. Just stir until blended. Add the pecans, raisins, and green tomatoes.
Spray large muffin tins with non-stick spray and a mini loaf pan. Add batter to tins and pan, about 3/4 full, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes for the muffins and about 35 – 40 minutes for the loaf. Make sure your knife, when inserted in the middle of the baked goods, comes out clean. This will mean the green tomato treats are done.
The other night we watched…
The Joneses. It is what it implies, a movie about keeping up with the Joneses. I’ve never been a fan of David Duchovny, but in this movie, his character was my favorite. He played the roll well.
The story line takes a little bit to finally get the gist of what’s going on. It gets slow in the middle but overall, because it’s so different, it’s worth watching.
Joanne
Did I Run? and An Adventure in Greek Food
Did I run? Was the hamstring up for the challenge? The answer: Yes. It wasn’t a quality run but it was a run. I walked-ran the first couple of miles then fell into a slow run for the remaining 5. Total miles = 7.09.
I used the thigh wrap and pulled the strap really tight. Nothing more annoying than the thigh wrap making its way down your leg as you trot along. I checked a couple of times to make sure my calf didn’t turn blue. Yes, I had it THAT tight.
As I started down the road with Shane and tried to run. That didn’t feel good at all. But then I walked fast and with a long stride which helped loosen the leg up. The first mile was about half and half, walking-running. The second mile was a bit more running, then it was all running. We went around the business park. A nice morning to run. What a shame I couldn’t be out there longer. Maybe tomorrow.
Greek Food
Symeon’s, the local restaurant offering foods in the Greek tradition. Here is the MENU link. It all sounds so good.
Ted and I arrived at Symeon’s on a whim. We were seated immediately and served almost as quickly.
The decor is nothing fancy or cozy. It’s open and bright. The restaurant had quite a few open tables.
Ted began with an appetizer:
KREATOPITA = Ground beef sauteed onions and feta cheese wedged between layers of buttery filo pastry and baked to a golden brown.
I began with a fresh, crisp garden salad *That olive on the plate above is my contribution to Ted’s appetizer. Sorry… Joanne doesn’t do olives.
My one complaint was that the fork was MAMMOTH!
Look at that thing! It’s longer than my pinky! It was heavy as well.
Getting back to dinner, Ted had the
SOUVLAKI PLATTER Two generous skewers of marinated lamb and pork shish-ka-bob served over a Greek salad with yogurt sauce.
Ted said the flavors of olive oil, lemon and oregano were perfectly balanced in this dish of tender marinated meats.
I enjoyed the
TILAPIA FLORENTINE This mild white fish is stuffed with spinach and feta cheese topped with Symeon’s pita bread crumbs and baked with a taste of white wine Served with rice pilaf.
I typically associate “florentine” with Italian. Not sure why, maybe because the spinach is usually paired with a sharp, rich Italian cheese. In this case, at Symeon’s, the pairing of spinach and feta was full of flavor. The salty, tangy, yet smoothness of the Feta paired well with the spinach.
It was very good. A little greasy but lots of flavor. I ate about 1/2 the fish and all of the spinach and feta stuffing. Shane enjoyed the other half of the fish and the left over pilaf.
As a side dish, a grilled vegetable ka-bob was ordered. Just the way I like my veggies. Perfect-O!
One of us couldn’t stop there. ONE of us ordered the Praline dessert
Praline ice cream wrapped securely in a thick coat of dark chocolate.
It was a great meal. The presentation wasn’t top priority at Symeons, taste and quality was. Very good.
Do you enjoy Greek cuisine? What’s your favorite dish?
Joanne
No good injured and Egg Beating
Wednesday was a day of beating myself up for a bad run and poor attitude. What a day! Phew. The best part of Wednesday was this:
Somewhat funny movie. A romantic comedy that got a lot of criticism from me while watching. Ted kept saying “it’s a movie, they have to do that to have a story”. Still, I enjoyed the light heartedness of it after such a down day.
Thursday a recovery run was planned for 3–4 miles. My right hamstring told me “NO WAY!” 
I laced up the sneaks and headed out with Shane. I couldn’t run one step. Walking was ok but there was no way to run. So bummed! Shane and I walked 4 miles. 
TODAY, Friday, I was hoping for at least an hour of running. I put the compression wrap around my right thigh and went out the door to test the hamstring. NOPE! The run wasn’t in the cards for today, either. I changed into sweats and set out down the Parkway with Shane for a 5 miles fast walk, average 14.41 pace. The hamstring loosened up a bit but every time I tried to run, it really hurt. The positive: it’s better than yesterday. The negative: I don’t see a 3 hour run on tap for tomorrow. Fingers crossed, I’ll be able to do 5 – 6 miles Saturday.
Funny – last week, the foot, this week the hamstring. What’s up for next week?!
Do you beat yourself up when you don’t meet your own expectations? Wouldn’t you offer words of encouragement if it were a friend that was upset with herself/himself? Why don’t we offer those same encouraging thoughts to ourselves? On a similar subject, great post by Beth of TwentySixPointTwoormore. Beth just ran with Dean Karnazes on a grueling 20 plus mile run. She may not be a “Bad Ass” as defined by Dean, but she’s a bad ass in her own right. Make sure to take a look!
EGG BEATING
The best eggs are without a doubt Egglands Best. If you wonder why, here’s proof. This note arrived in my mailbox the other day:
By now you must have heard about the egg recall.
Not only did we want to let you know that Eggland’s Best eggs are not part of any recall you may have heard about, but we also wanted to give you some hard facts:
· EB eggs are safe.
· EB eggs are not produced in Iowa
· EB has the most comprehensive food safety quality assurance program and will never compromise when it comes to consumer safety.
What makes us different!
· The Eggland’s Best food safety quality assurance program was introduced in 1995 and adheres to and goes beyond the FDA Egg Safety Rule in many ways, including our requirement to vaccinate all hens 3 times to create resistance to Salmonella infection so that consumers can use EB eggs with confidence.
Yes, that is correct! All EB hens are vaccinated 3 times against Salmonella!
· Eggland’s Best hens are fed an all-natural, all-vegetarian diet that does not contain animal fat or other animal by-products, a potential cause for salmonella.
· We require extensive cleaning and disinfecting of poultry houses.
· We require strict pest control inspections.
· We require proper egg washing and plant sanitation procedures.
· We implement a strict bio-security program– ensuring that all visitors and employees on farm premises follow proper disease-preventive practices.
· We require proper refrigeration of eggs at or below 45 degrees.
· All operations are certified under the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program.
· All plants producing EB eggs are inspected by USDA.
- All farms and processing plants are inspected by a certified veterinarian on an ongoing basis.
- EB has stricter standards for eliminating cracked eggs, which helps to ensure that no bacteria get into EB eggs.
- USDA allows regular generic eggs to be stored up to 21 days before packing into cartons, whereas Eggland’s Best sets a maximum of 7 days. Most EB eggs leave our farms within 24-48 hours after production, or as soon as they have completely cooled to 45 degrees or below. Fresher eggs are more resistant to bacterial growth.
- EB conducts over 45,000 tests annually to ensure that our product meets the highest standards.
- A USDA publication states, “After washing, the eggs should be quickly and completely dried to reduce the risk that any bacteria remaining on the surface of the eggs are aspirated into the eggs as they cool to ambient temperature.” Only Eggland’s Best uses supplementary drying fans to ensure that eggs are 100% dry when eggs are packed into cartons. Regular eggs that go into the carton wet, sit in a moist environment conducive to bacteria and mold growth.
- EB eggs are produced by younger hens, not just because the egg quality is better, but also because younger hens are more resistant to disease. They will most likely have had fewer chances for exposure to disease.
- FDA put into effect the Egg Safety Rule on July 9, 2010, but the program was proposed in September of 2004. Eggland’s Best began to implement the program years before it went into effect.
If you would like more information about how Eggland’s Best eggs are more nutritious than ordinary eggs, please visit our website at http://www.egglandsbest.com..
The recipe for my special Omelet. Enough to serve 2 people, but I eat it all myself.
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 3 Egglands Best Eggs – whites only *I cook the yolks for Shane
- 1/4 cup Egg Beaters *The EggBeaters make the omelet a little sturdier. Egg whites are very delicate and I always have trouble folding when using just whites.
- 2 TBS chopped onion
- 3 TBS chopped asparagus
- 1/4 cup chopped broccoli
- 3 cherry tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
- pinch of garlic powder
- 1 oz crumbles Feta cheese
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. When hot add the onion, asparagus, broccoli and tomato. Cook for about 5 –7 minutes or until vegetables are cooked to your liking.
Beat the egg whites with the Egg Beaters and add to the pan over the vegetables. Add the salt,pepper, and garlic. Let cook about 2 to 3 minutes then add the crumbled Feta. Slide a spatula under the outer rim of the egg omelet and let the liquid egg seep under to cook so little raw egg is left on top. Let cook about 1 more minute then flip one side of omelet over the other in a nice fold.
Serve with a toasted low-carb tortilla or Ezekiel bread. Top with salsa. Enjoy!
TGIF…again. The world is spinning faster. Weekend plans are up in the air at this point but I’m sure something great will happen, e.g a hot stone massage maybe?
Joanne
CEimB: Mixed Berry Cobbler Pancake Cookies
This weeks Craving Ellie recipe was chosen by Pam of Cookies with boys. Pam is always making something that is sure to please every family’s tastes. Check out her site for this weeks recipe. The recipe, by Ellie Krieger, can also be found at FoodNetwork. The recipe I made, can only be found here at Apple Crumbles.
I absolutely loved the sound of the Mixed Berry Cobbler, but knew we would only take a couple of bites then the rest would go to waste. We just don’t eat desserts. Since I didn’t want to miss this weeks cooking with the CEimBers, I turned the cobbler into something I knew one of us would eat. I just didn’t realize it would be eaten in ONE SITTING!!!! Ah HEM! TED!!!! Didn’t you and Pam JUST discuss portion control?!!!
* Indicate changes from the original ingredients.
The Fruit Syrup: *I did not add 1/4 cup flour and I reduced the sugar from 1/4 cup to 2 TBS.
- 3/4 cup Frozen Strawberries
- 1/2 cup Frozen Blueberries
- 1/2 cup Frozen Raspberries
- 2 TBS sugar
- 1/2 orange – juiced and zested
* Indicate changes from the original ingredients.
The Cobbler Cookie – Pancake: *I increased the wheat flour from 1/4 cup to 1/2. Replaced all-purpose flour with old fashioned oats. Replaced the sugar with honey. Used 1/4 low fat milk instead of 1/3 cup low fat buttermilk. Reduced canola oil by 1 TBS.
- 1/2 cup Whole Wheat flour
- 1/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 2 TBS honey
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 2 TBS Smart Balance Light (or use Butter)
- 1/4 cup Low fat milk
- 1 TBS canola oil
Sprinkle frozen fruits with sugar. Add the orange juice and zest and allow to defrost. When you are ready to eat, you can heat this up if desired.
To make the cobbler cookie pancake, preheat the oven to 400F and brush a baking sheet with the 1 TBS canola oil.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, soda, salt, honey, Smart Balance (or butter), and milk.
When mixed, drop by about 3 inch discs, flattened, onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 8 – 10 minutes or just until brown on top.
To serve, put on a plate, like a pancake and top with fruit syrup.
Whoops! Is that whip cream? I’ve seen whipped cream on pancakes…why not?!
So I fibbed a bit earlier. I DID indulge in 2 of these little treats. But Ted ate the remaining SIX as a snack …YES…A SNACK!!!! later in the morning.
It’s a good thing he rides his bike 20 plus miles most weekdays!
Pam, even though I didn’t make the recipe as called out by Ellie, I loved working with the recipe to create these, as you can guess, very popular little breakfast cobbler-cookie-pancakes. Great pick!
Joanne
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