English Muffin Pizzas

Today we’ll be having a different kind of culinary adventure – how about an adventure for people who are moving in under a week, have packed up pretty much all of their belongings, whose lower back and legs are killing them from packing and cleaning things up and who are left with a lot items that might not naturally go together?

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Yeah, that’s probably a little too specific, huh? I won’t start whining about how exhausted I am, but I will admit that I may have just fallen asleep in the closet…

So today I bring you english muffin pizzas! They’re not the fanciest or most sophisticated dinner or lunch, but you shouldn’t knock them until you try them. It’s summer, and they’re light, easy and really tasty.

beforecooking

You know how there’s always that person in the group who can’t have cheese? Or someone doesn’t like meat? Another person doesn’t like a lot of sauce on their pizza? Remarkably, everyone can get exactly what they want with english muffin pizzas. Set up an assembly line of ingredients for kids and/or adults and have everyone decorate their own – there’s no messy, sticky pizza dough to roll out, and there’s no grease like with take out. Make as many or as few as you like.

english muffin pizzas

English Muffin Pizzas

whole wheat english muffins
fresh shredded mozzarella
Ghost Baker’s mom’s marinara
fresh basil, torn into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350F. Toast english muffins first by themselves for a crispier crust. Add ingredients above as desired and add to a baking sheet. Cook until mozzarella melts.

Quick & Easy Zucchini and White Bean Soup

The other day I was browsing Food Gawker for inspiration, and I came across a photo for zucchini soup. This is normally the type of thing that I would quickly skip over, but I remembered that I had a stray zucchini around the house that needed to be used, and not much time left to use it!

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I talked over a few ideas with Edwin, who was of course thrilled at my newfound fascination with soup. I came up with a few changes to make the zucchini soup I found a little more my style. The biggest change was probably adding white beans. I really enjoy white beans; they always make a really malleable addition to meals. I also some celery, removed the onion and added less zucchini and chicken broth.

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One thing to keep in mind is to be a little careful handling the zucchini. After chopping it my hands felt completely dried out, itchy, tight and raw. I was initially a little startled, but then I remembered an excellent comment left by a reader on Edwin’s Celery Root Bisque recipe from last year – handling squash can cause a condition called Contact Dermatitis, and zucchini is a squash. It shouldn’t cause any real damage, but if you’re susceptible like me then your hands might be a little uncomfortable right after working with it. Try touching it as little as possible or, if you’re really concerned, wear latex gloves when handling squash.

Dry hands aside, I have to admit that I really loved this soup. Zucchini doesn’t really have a very strong flavor, so there’s nothing overpowering about the soup – the white beans and pepper make it flavorful. It’s light, very tasty and quick and easy to make – definitely a DinnerCakes win and a great summer dinner!

zucchini soup

Zucchini & White Bean Soup
adapted from Cooking with Michele

2 cans chicken broth (14 oz. each)
1 can cannellini beans (19 oz.), drained
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
1/2 cup half and half, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat large pot over medium heat and add oil when hot. Add garlic, zucchini and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add stock, drained white beans and thyme to the pot, then cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until zucchini and celery are softened, about 15 minutes.

Remove pot from heat and pour in batches of two or three into food processor (be careful not to overflow!) and pulse. When desired consistency is reached, pour final batch back into the pot and add half and half, followed by salt and generous amounts of pepper to taste (don’t skimp on the fresh ground pepper!).

Makes about 3 or 4 servings of soup.

Day #3 of Smoothie Week – Berry Breakfast Blend

You know those people who wake up just as the sun is rising and a crisp new day begins, jog a few laps around the neighborhood and pick the newspaper up on their way back in the house, throw together an energizing breakfast smoothie and then drive to work for the day?

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That’s not me! In fact, my friends and family will tell you that I’m grizzlier than a bear when awoken…

But I will accept the energizing breakfast smoothie – thanks!

Today’s smoothie is lightly sweetened, but rich in fruit, fiber and dairy. It’s a little more complex than my Blue Afternoon smoothie, but it’s still very easy to put together and enjoy. It combines my preferred frozen fruit with a bit of fresh fruit (blueberries) so that I’m still able to buy and use all those great blueberries on sale right now.

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Unlike Edwin I don’t use juice, so if you’re on the fence about which method you prefer try experimenting with both. My base here is yogurt and skim milk. The yogurt gives the smoothie a little extra kick, but don’t worry about it tasting too “yogurty,” to put it elegantly.

To answer a question I’ve received – I typically wrap my peeled bananas in foil to freeze them, but I’d also stored peeled bananas in a gallon ziploc freezer bag. You want to make sure that your bananas don’t freeze together, get freezer burn, or turn dark brown too quickly.

Hope you’re enjoying Smoothie Week so far! Please let us know how your experiments are going – or if you have your own concoction that we should check out!

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Berry Breakfast Blend
makes about 3 servings

1 heaping cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
2 medium frozen bananas
1 cup frozen strawberry puree
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon wheat germ/bran
1 tablespoon simple syrup (it incorporates better than sugar)

Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistency is reached.

Introducing Smoothie Week! How to Make Your Own Smoothies

Hey there, DinnerCakes readers! It’s been about two months since our last theme week (Rainbow Week), and Chef Edwin and I thought it was time for another!

I know people always say things like “I can’t believe it’s July already,” but seriously, I can’t believe we’re in the middle of summer! Because I was raised around the ocean, I think that for me summer isn’t really official until I’ve been to the beach… which I still haven’t yet. However, I think an ice cold fruit smoothie could certainly help me get in the mood a little more!

blueberries

Like most things having to do with cooking, everyone has their own taste preferences. We’ll give you the basics of smoothie making in today’s post, and then follow up with some tried and true variations and new ideas throughout the week.

Liquid
Something that’s very basic but actually quite easy to forget when making a smoothie is that it needs sufficient liquid – or else you’ve just got frozen fruit puree that you’ll need to eat with a spoon. If you’re a connoisseur of smoothie establishments, consider the one you like best and why. My husband and I are Smoothie King die hards, which we feel has the most delicious and thick smoothies, while we have friends who swear by Tropical Smoothie, which seem a lot less thick and more juice-based to us. Experiment and decide whether you favor smoothies with a milk, soy milk, juice, yogurt, or even flavored water base.

Fruit
There are a variety of fruit combinations to try, so the most important question to ask yourself is whether you’d like to use fresh or frozen fruit. In my experience, frozen fruit is the best option for a perfect smoothie:

– Without frozen fruit you’ll need to use ice to get the cold and thick consistency you’re looking for. Ice seems a little like filler to me when you could just use frozen fruit to get the same effect.

– Frozen fruit is typically packaged when the fruit is at its prime. There’s no guesswork trying to decide whether the fruit at the grocery store is ripe or not.

– You don’t need to worry about checking for mold, making sure it’s firm or soft enough or making sure it hasn’t gone bad. When it’s frozen, you just store it in the freezer to enjoy whenever you like.

– Frozen fruit doesn’t need to be washed. For those of us who never have enough time in the day, this can easily save five minutes.

– If you have a Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s or other wholesaler membership, you can buy frozen fruit in bulk. If you can spare the freezer space, bulk is always less expensive.

– Frozen fruit usually contains less moisture, so it lends itself better to a puree than fresh fruit which may make your smoothie too runny.

As for what kinds of fruit to use, there are a variety of great combinations. However a staple for me is one frozen banana. Bananas lend themselves well to the thick consistency that I like best.

blue afternoon

Thickeners
If you’re using frozen fruit, that may be all the extra thickener you need. If you’re using fresh fruit (since it is summertime and all), throw in a handful of ice cubes. Yogurt and frozen fruit concentrate can also serve as great thickeners.

Sweetener (Optional)
As I mentioned above, my husband and I love Smoothie King. Maybe this is because, like most smoothie establishments, they load up their beverages with sugar and sweeteners to make them irresistible! You can recreate this in your own kitchen by adding a few tablespoons of sugar or, even better, simple syrup. For me, I typically try not to include extra sweetener and just let the fruit do the work… but sometimes I can’t resist.

Supplements (Optional)
Because smoothies can be considered a health food (when done right), maybe people take the opportunity to add supplements and/or powders. This can be anything from protein or weight gain powder, to flavor blends, vitamin supplements and fiber.

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Now that you have a basic understanding of the most important smoothie components, let’s start off the week with a very basic smoothie – we’ll get more adventurous as the week goes on! This smoothie is not particularly sweet, as I’m only using a banana and blueberries. If you’re looking for a basic cold and refreshing smoothie with mild flavor, this one is perfect!

Blue Afternoon
makes one serving

1/2 cup cold skim milk (substitute soy milk if you like a little more kick)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 medium frozen banana

Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistency is reached. Add a few ice cubes if a thicker consistency is preferred.

I really really (really) love this time of year. Not only do I hate the cold, but there is so much more to do in the warmth. Hiking, climbing, swimming, the list goes on. Edwin was not meant to be contained indoors! The only issue I have with the summer is the shift towards colder meals. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good salad, but otherwise I prefer my dinners hot.

Chopped English Cucumber

Of course, I try to keep an open mind so I thought I’d give a cold soup a shot. English cucumber is a seedless variety of cucumber that has an edible skin and is often considered less bitter than most. It’s also friggin’ long; several feet. It’s the most common ingredient in a cold cucmber soup, today’s dish. The major ingredients are the cucumber (duh), dill and yogurt. I decided to add corn and tomato because, well, I like a soup with substance and a pureed soup makes me feel like I’m eating water.

Dill Fronds

This is definitely not the most appealing-looking soup I’ve made, but appearances can be deceiving. It’s got a light flavor and the cucumber and yogurt combine surprisingly well. On top of that, this is one of the few soups that calls for little to no salt. Oh, and did I mention it’s by far the easiest soup I’ve ever made? Give it a shot and let us know what you think.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Chilled Cucumber Soup
Feel free to substitute the shallot with garlic, onion or scallions.

1 english cucumber; chopped
1 small or medium scallion; minced
1 handful dill fronds
2 cups yogurt (regular works fine, but consider greek if you’d like a thicker consistency)
1 cup corn kernels
1 plum tomato; diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients except the corn and tomato into a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve with the corn and tomato on the side as a “garnish.” Enjoy.