Baked Ziti

Ingredients

• 1lb of ziti
• 1lb of ricotta
• 1 egg
• 8oz of shredded mozzarella
• 1 jar of tomato sauce

1. Cook the ziti al dente. Beat the egg into the ricotta
2.Preheat the oven 350F
3. Drain the pasta. Mix the tomato sauce and ricotta into the pasta.
4. Scoop the pasta into a 9 x 13 pyrex dish
5. Bake for 30-35 min. Sprinkle on the mozzarella on top of the ziti, bake for a further 10min.

Enjoy the baked, cheezy goodness.
NP

Hamantashen with Poppy Seed Filling

Friends, be ready to have your mind blown. These are traditional Purim cookies that a friend of mine and I recently made. Along with these we made other variations with various Jams for filling instead of poppy seeds. However, these were by far the best. I found this recipe on the New York Times (and they got it from "Schmaltz" by Shmil Holland). I took leftovers to my office and everybody agreed they were amazing!

For the Dough:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large egg yolks
8 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature, in small pieces
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
Dash of salt
1 large beaten egg, for the glaze

For Poppy Seed Filling:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1/2 orange
1 cup poppy seeds
1/3 cup raisins
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tablespoon brandy
1/2 tablespoon orange liqueur
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract


(1) Put the confectioners' sugar and the egg yolks in a food processor and blend. Add butter and lemon zest and process to blend. Gradually add the flour and the salt, pulsing until it forms a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.

(2) Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Put milk, sugar and orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat. Grind poppy seeds in a coffee grinder (or cuisinart). When mixture is warm, turn heat to low and add poppy seeds and raisins. Cook until the seeds absorb the milk and the mixture is thick, about 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice, brandy, orange liqueur and butter. Stir and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the vanilla extract, remove from the heat and cool.

(3) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 pastry sheets with parchment paper.

(4) Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut 3-inch circles. Put a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of each, and press up the sides to form triangles. Brush the tops with beaten egg.

(5) Bake until golden and dough is delicately firm all the way through, about 15 minutes. If trays are on different racks, switch them after about 10 minutes.

Yields about 30 cookies!

Enjoy the baked goodness!

HB

Plumb Crumble Cupcakes

My love of fruit continues. Bring on the summer fruits!

Ingredients

• 2 oz butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoon port/dry red wine
• 8 oz plums, pitted & cut
• 1/2 stick very cold butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven 350F. Butter silicone mini cupcake holders/Line cupcake tin
2. In a skillet, heat the butter, sugar, port; add plums. Cook for 10min. until plums are soft; set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. In a food processor mix crumble ingredients (butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon)
4. Pour plum mix into each cupcake cup. Fill 3/4 full. fill the rest with crumble mix.
5. Bake 15-20min, until set.

NP

Black Bean, Sweet Potato, Kale Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans
• 2 Large Sweet Potatoes - peeled, diced
• 1 bunch Kale - chopped
• 1 onion - diced
• 1 14.5 oz can of tomatoes with garlic
• 10 corn tortillas
• Enchilada sauce
• 8 oz. Cheddar cheese - grated
  
• Cumin to taste
  
• Chili Powder to taste

1. Preheat oven 350F. Saute the onions add spices for last minute. Mix together: beans, sweet potatoes, kale, onion and tomatoes.

2. Coat tortilla with enchilada sauce. Stuff tortilla with bean mix. Roll and put seam sides down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

3. Cover with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese (lots of cheese). Bake until done (about 45min).

4. Let cool, serve with sour cream.

Blueberry Maple Syrup Smoothie

With the arrival of Spring, I've been craving fruits and colour. So I'm experimenting with smoothie recipes. More to follow!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 25ml apple juice
• 3/4 cup bio-yogurt (Greek works well too!)
  
• 2 soup spoons of oats

1. If using frozen berries, defrost first. Place berries, syrup, juice & yogurt in blender. Puree until smooth. Add oats, pulse quickly. Fin!

NP

Curried Sweet Potato Soup by NP

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 cups chopped, peeled sweet potato (or butternut squash)
• 6 cups water
• 4 cups granny smith apple (peeled)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion & next 5 ingredients; cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sweet pot., water, and apple; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until tender.
2. Place 1/2 of soup in a blender and process until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining soup. Return to pan; add salt and whipping cream (optional).
3. Serve with yummy crusty bread!
   

Makes 10 servings.

Grilled Eggplant and Goat Cheese Salad

This is an easy and simple recipe that is also amazing. Just the thing for my favorite ladies on the go.

Ingredients:

- 7 Japanese Eggplants, ends trimmed, cut into one inch circles

- 3 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Eggplant:

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat gas or charcoal grill.

Place the eggplant slices on a sheet or in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil; toss to coat with the oil.

Grill the eggplant slices until tender and grill marks appear, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Once the Eggplant is done:

Place the eggplant slices side-by-side on a serving platter.

Sprinkle with the pine nuts, goat cheese, basil, and mint.

Drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

This recipe (like so many of mine) comes from Giada de Laurentiis.

Hope you are both well!

HB