De Ma Cuisine

Monday

1

October 2012

0

COMMENTS

Baguette Margherita Pizza

Written by , Posted in Baking, Bread, Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, Lunch, Main Dishes, Pizza, Sandwiches, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Baguette Margherita Pizza

Recipe Type: Pizza, Quick
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1/2 baguette, sliced in half
  • 1 tomato, or 10-15 cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 1/4 balls fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • 10-15 large basil leaves
  • salt
  • pepper
  • olive oil
Instructions
  1. Top each baguette half with olive oil, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and cheese.
  2. Bake at 400F for about 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
  3. Top with basil and serve (slicing in half if desired).

 

Friday

28

September 2012

7

COMMENTS

The Definition of Success

Written by , Posted in Thoughts

Do you ever have one of those days where you have to look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I am beautiful. I am likable. I am good enough.” Do you ever have to convince yourself that you aren’t a failure? Not because no one has told you those things, but because you are your biggest critic, and it needs to come from you.

Do you ever have to remind yourself that your self worth shouldn’t doesn’t come from someone else’s opinion of you. They (whoever “they” are) do not determine your merit.

(Can I interrupt myself for a second to say that I know my blog is mainly about food. But, even though I’m a bit hesitant about posting this, I think it’s important to share who the girl behind the apron is. If reading about this is not interesting to you, here’s a post without too many feelings, but with a fun video, and a yummy recipe. :))

This stemmed from a time a couple of weeks ago where I forgot that I’m valuable and focused on someone else’s opinion of me. (OK, let’s be honest here, it hasn’t just happened once.) It was an interesting learning experience though. As I was in the midst of it, I was able to take a step back and really examine why I was so upset. And it was good, really good. In the middle of a tough situation, I often have trouble seeing clearly what I need to be changing or how I should be acting. This particular day I had a more coherent frame of mind and I started thinking about how I define success.

It’s difficult to strike a balance, especially in the social media laden world we live and work in. Maybe more-so for those of us who rely so heavily on things like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for our “success”. The problem is that I can place my value on the number of comments I get on a blog post (sometimes there are none), the number of YouTube views my show gets (sometimes the numbers are way lower than I’d like), the number of Likes I have on Facebook (why don’t I have as many as so and so).

Some of this has led me to contemplate my childhood. Who I was, the people who helped shape my life, why I am the way I am and respond the way I do. I’ve been thinking about my brother and sister-in-law’s precious 10 day old baby girl and how she is going to be influenced by me, as her Auntie. I want her to know how special and important she is.

And through all of these thoughts, I’m realizing a lot about success, who I want to be, the good things and the not so great things about who I am, and that I’m OK with being me… It only took 31 years to be able to say that.

Wednesday

26

September 2012

0

COMMENTS

There’s Sinqua in my Ratatouille? – Episode 41

Written by , Posted in A Cooking Show with Rachel O, Abundant Harvest Organics, This Week's Feast, Thoughts

Ratatouille-2

I took the dog for a walk this morning. It smells like potato salad outside. Not in a good way.

In happier news, I used the sinqua that has been in the Abundant Harvest Organics boxes lately for something so yummy. I’ll admit that I was a little hesitant to try this foreign to me veggie at first. But, when I read that you could use it kinda like you would zucchini, I wasn’t as scared. I have been wanting to make Ratatouille for ages, and was so excited when a few weeks ago almost all of the ingredients were in our weekly box of produce. All but the summer squash. I decided to give the sinqua a chance. Success! We loved it!

So I thought I’d make it for you on the show. You could, of course, use summer squash if you’d prefer. But, if you’re looking for an interesting way to use the sinqua, give it a try as a replacement.

When we were eating dinner last night, I said something about how there was a whole eggplant in the dish. Husband looked up quickly and said, “There’s eggplant in here?!” I guess he didn’t know he liked it. 😉

Ratatouille-3

Ratatouille-1

Ratatouille-4

Happy Eating!

Ratatouille
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • 1 eggplant (about 3 C), diced (peel left on)
  • 2 sinqua (Chinese okra) or summer squash (about 2 C), peeled and diced
  • 3 bell peppers (about 2-3 C), diced
  • 2 tomatoes (about 2 C), diced
  • 1 medium onion, diced (I used red, use whatever kind you have on hand)
  • 1 t fresh thyme (or 1/2 t dried)
  • 3-4 T olive oil
  • 1 t garlic powder (or 4 cloves, diced)
  • 1/2 to 1 t salt (or to taste)
  • pepper
  • 1/4 C fresh basil, chopped (for topping)
Instructions
  1. Heat skillet. Add 3 T oil. Add onions, peppers, salt, and pepper. Cook about 8 minutes over medium or medium-low heat.
  2. Add eggplant, sinqua/squash, thyme, and garlic powder. Cook covered, for 5 minutes.
  3. Add tomato, cook covered for 5 minutes over medium heat. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes (or until the juice from the tomatoes has mostly boiled away), stirring often, over medium-high heat.
  4. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
  5. Top with a drizzle of good olive oil and basil.
Notes
We ate this dish with some leftover (reheated) Chicken and Crostini (topped with olive oil, tomato, and parmesan cheese).

 

This episode is Sponsored By

Abundant Harvest Organics

Bari Olive Oil Company

Molly Jenson

Waterfall Creative

Monday

24

September 2012

0

COMMENTS

Lavender and Lace Tea

Written by , Posted in Thoughts

I love weddings. I loved my wedding. I love this time of the year because I’m reminded of the fall of 6 years ago when I was getting ready to be married. This year, in addition to our anniversary that’s coming up in a few weeks, my brother-in-law is going to marry his wonderful fiancé.

My mom-in-law and I thought it would be fun to throw a bridal shower and tea for my future sister-in-law. So we planned and shopped and cooked and carried tables and decorated with so much lace… And it turned out to be a really lovely tea.

I was mostly in charge of the food. We bought a few things, like scones from Top of the Hill Produce (so yummy – I’m glad I didn’t insist that we make them ourselves), and a few little things like nuts and chocolate covered cookies, and mom made some chocolate covered blackberries. I made 5 different Tea Sandwiches. Some took very little effort, some were a little more work (and made me cry, because I had to cut so many onions). It was a bit of a daunting task. I realized I’d never been the main cooker for so many people! There were 20 women attending the tea. All-in-all, I was happy with the result and got some nice compliments on the sandwiches. I think my favorite was either the Walnut and Caramelized Onion, or the Roasted Fig.

Here’s a little look at the tea. We held the event at Shinn Photography‘s studio (where I used to work). It turned out exactly as I’d imagined it would. I’d say it was a success.

Husband made this wonderful sign. No computer used – all freehand. He’s talented. And, really nice to help with a shower he wasn’t going to attend… He even did all the hand-washable dishes after!  

Food, ready and waiting for our guests to arrive.

Nametags

Mismatched tea cups and plates with silver spoons. Lemon curd for the scones. Fresh flowers from a neighbor’s yard.

Our lovely guests.

Now there’s less than a month until the happy couple is married! I’m pretty excited. We got to spend the rest of the weekend with them. It was really nice time.

Here are the Tea Sandwiches that I made.

Happy Eating!

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Last modified on 2012-09-26 22:05:26 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Recipe Type: Sandwich, Lunch
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time: 15 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 7-8
Ingredients
  • 2 containers Boursin spreadable cheese
  • 14 slices of white bread
  • 1 cucumber, seeded and chopped in small pieces
Instructions
  1. Mix together the cheese and cucumber and spread on bread.
  2. Top with a second slice of bread.
  3. Cut in triangles, quarters, or fingers.
Notes

Makes 7 sandwiches total.
If left to sit overnight, it will probably become a bit watery (because of the cucumber). You can mix the water in, or just drain it. It didn’t make our sandwiches soggy.

 

Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches

Last modified on 2012-09-26 22:05:22 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Recipe Type: Lunch, Sandwich
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time: 15 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 7-8
Ingredients
  • 2 – 4oz. packages smoked salmon, finely chopped
  • 1 oz. capers, drained
  • 12oz. (1 1/2 pkgs) cream cheese
  • 14-16 slices white bread
Instructions
  1. Mix cream cheese until spreadable (if desired the cheese can be left at room temperature for a while to soften, then mixed).
  2. Mix salmon with capers and cream cheese. Spread on bread.
  3. Top with a second slice of bread.
  4. Cut in triangles, quarters, or fingers.
Notes

You could use leftovers to make a Savory Stuffed French Toast.
Makes 7-8 sandwiches total.

 

Roasted Fig Tea Sandwiches

Last modified on 2012-09-26 22:05:18 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Roasted Fig Tea Sandwiches
Recipe Type: Sandwich, Lunch
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 7-8
Ingredients
  • 14 figs, chopped
  • 1 T olive oil
  • pinch salt
  • 1/8 t pepper (or to taste)
  • 12oz. (1 1/2 pkgs) cream cheese
  • 14 slices white bread
Instructions
  1. Toss figs with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until figs are lightly roasted.
  2. Let figs cool.
  3. Soften cream cheese and mix with figs. Add a little more pepper if desired.
  4. Top bread with mixture and top with a second slice of bread.
  5. Cut into triangles, quarters, or fingers.
Notes

You could use leftovers to make Stuffed French Toast, or Baked French Toast.
Makes 7 sandwiches total.

 

Walnut and Caramelized Onion Tea Sandwiches

Last modified on 2012-09-26 22:05:13 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Walnut and Caramelized Onion Tea Sandwiches
Recipe Type: Lunch, Sandwich
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 7-9
Ingredients
  • 6 onions, diced
  • 1 C walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 2 T honey
  • 2 T brown sugar
  • 1-2 T olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 12oz. (1 1/2 pkgs.) cream cheese
  • 14-18 slices of white bread
Instructions
  1. Heat pan, add oil. When oil is hot, add onions, honey, salt, pepper, and sugar.
  2. Cook over medium-low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated and the onions are caramelized (brownish, tender, sweet).
  3. Mix with softened cream cheese and walnuts. Add salt and pepper if desired.
  4. Top bread with onion mixture. Top with another slice of bread.
  5. Cut into triangles, quarters, or fingers.
Notes

The onions bothered my eyes a lot, because of the quantity. If you can get past that, this is a really yummy sandwich!! One trick I’ve discovered for peeling is to peel them under running water. Helps a little with the crying. 🙂
The filling would also be a good chip or cracker dip. It could be good added to scrambled eggs.

 

Mushroom, Ham, and Rosemary Tea Sandwiches

Last modified on 2012-09-26 22:05:08 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Mushroom, Ham, and Rosemary Tea Sandwiches
Recipe Type: Lunch, Sandwich
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 7-8
Ingredients
  • 3 packs/boxes of mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 C ham, chopped
  • 1 T fresh rosemary
  • 14-16 slices white bread
  • 12oz. cream cheese
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 2 T olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat pan, add oil. When oil is hot, add mushrooms and rosemary. Cook over medium or medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender, and liquid has evaporated.
  2. Combine mushrooms, cream cheese, ham, salt, and pepper.
  3. Top bread with mixture, and top with another slice of bread.
  4. Cut into triangles, quarters, or fingers.
Notes

Any extra filling could be great added to an omelet, or scrambled eggs, or to a savory Baked French Toast, or Stuffed French Toast.

 

Monday

24

September 2012

0

COMMENTS

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Written by , Posted in Bread, Cheese, Inspired By, Lunch, Sandwiches, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Recipe Type: Sandwich, Lunch
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time: 15 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 7-8
Ingredients
  • 2 containers Boursin spreadable cheese
  • 14 slices of white bread
  • 1 cucumber, seeded and chopped in small pieces
Instructions
  1. Mix together the cheese and cucumber and spread on bread.
  2. Top with a second slice of bread.
  3. Cut in triangles, quarters, or fingers.
Notes

Makes 7 sandwiches total.
If left to sit overnight, it will probably become a bit watery (because of the cucumber). You can mix the water in, or just drain it. It didn’t make our sandwiches soggy.

 

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