Out With The Old, In With the New, More Recipes!

Out With The Old, In With the New-
Well, it had to happen sometime, sigh. I had a beautiful loaf of w.w. oat bread rising late last Sunday afternoon, when, bam, oven died. And not the OVEN, but the "microprocessor" that runs it. Since we had bought the house 5 years or so ago, with the electric, glass-topped, double oven in it, I used it happily. The double oven was really handy during the holidays, and big baking ventures. We priced the replacement unit and then got sticker shock $525.00- $600.00+ ouch. Since the oven was getting older it didn't make much sense to us to fix it. We opted to buy a new one, with a single oven, for less than the PART. I wished we could have gotten a gas range, but the plumbing fees wouldn't have made it cost effective. It was delivered this morning, and the old one went to oven heaven. Happy retirement for you my friend! I'm happy we had an account with a big box store to cover the purchase, 12 months no interest. We could swing that. I wished we could have bought a good, used one but we needed a reliable stove...At least the new one has some storage below, a bonus for me, with our smaller kitchen!

More Recipes-
From Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Buttermilk Herb Dressing-

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh Parsley chopped
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (NO!) Too salty already IMO
• pepper to taste

1. Blend mayonnaise and buttermilk in a jar or shaker
2. Add fresh herbs. salt and pepper
3. Shake or blend well.
4. Store in refrigerator until needed.

I doubled the recipe, and I found it needed NO salt, and it was a little too mayo tasting for me. So I doubled the buttermilk, 1 tablespoon of sugar to taste, and 50% more garlic. Great! In the fridge, chilling for tonite.

Great Sardini Spread Recipe-
A couple of years ago I was looking for some recipes made with sardines, since they're so healthy and I like them. THIS recipe is NOT fishy tasting, you gotta taste it! It's an Italian recipe I found online, and I modified it a bit. I think it was from a restaurant in Seattle. Pretty simple, make it and serve on top of a slice of broiled, crispy baguette bread. Great for lunch!

Start with a can of large sardine in tomato sauce, usually found in the mexican cooking section in our grocery store.
1- 15 oz can (or 2 small cans) tomato sauce packed sardines
1 cup diced green, stuffed olives
1 cup diced kalamata olives
3 tablespoons mayo, mixed with 2-3 tablespoons blackened fish seasoning (to taste, it's spicy)
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 chopped flat leaf parsley.

Drain sardine liquid into mixing bowl with mayo mixture. De-bone sardines, easy to do since they're big, usually just the spine bone. Put in bowl, add olives, onion and parsley. Toss till mixed. Broil slices of baguette with a little olive oil (or plain), top with spread, enjoy! Great on that crunchy bread. The original recipe called for cherry tomatoes, which I left out, since I can't buy local off season, and I added the parsley, cause I love it! You could add diced celery, roasted red peppers, etc. as you like. Best served after it sits overnight...

Got A Lot Of Eggs And Tomatoes? Do I Have a Recipe For You!!! 
I found this recipe last summer when I had tons of eggs, it's great! Easy to make and excellent with a hot, crisp baguette or other European dinner bread. And heart healthy to boot!

Paprika Tomatoes with Poached Eggs (Shakshouka)- from Myrecipes.com

                          

Time: 45 minutes. Traditionally, cooks in Tunisia and Israel use a lot of olive oil when making this one-pan tomato and egg dinner, but this lighter version still has enough to help free the tomatoes' lycopene. YIELD: Serves 2

• TOTAL:45 Minutes
• COURSE: Breakfast/Brunch, Main Dishes
• Ingredients

• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hot or sweet Spanish or Hungarian paprika
• About 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 large poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• 1 to 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 4 large eggs
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Put coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a mortar and pound until crushed; or seal in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Add garlic and pound into a paste. Set aside.

2. In a 10-in. frying pan over medium heat, cook chile in 1 tbsp. oil, stirring often, until well browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add spice mixture and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in 3/4 cup water, then tomatoes. Cook, turning tomatoes occasionally, until softened, 10 to 20 minutes; add more water, 1/4 cup at a time, if mixture starts to get dry (you should see juices around tomatoes).

3. With a wooden spoon, make 4 depressions in tomato mixture and crack an egg into each. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until eggs are set but yolks are still runny, about 5 minutes.

4. If you like, drizzle the shakshouka with 1 tbsp. oil, then scoop onto plates and serve with crusty bread.