Croque-Monsieur

The Ingredients

6 slices rustic French-style hearth bread

3 pieces of ham

1/2 bag shredded swiss/gruyère mix

2 cups milk

3 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 tbsp flour

salt

pepper

nutmeg

I owe the influence of this recipe to Ina Garten. I changed the cheese and decided to use a thicker version of the bechamel sauce. 

First, toast the bread for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. While this is going on, start your sauce. In a small pot, melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter with 3 tbsp flour. This is the start of your rue and it will thicken the sauce. In another pot, heat up 2 cups of milk. When heated, add to the rue and stir. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Then, add 1/4 cup swiss/gruyère blend. Take out the bread and toast on the other side for 2-3 minutes. When the bread is completely toasted, spread the inside of 3 slices of bread with dijon mustard and top with a slice of ham, and add more of the swiss/gruyère cheese blend. Top the top bread slice with the sauce and add more shredded cheese blend. Compose into sandwiches and broil for 5 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy! 

The roux

The beginning of the sandwich process

Adding ham and cheese to the mix

The complete sandwich prior to broiling

The final product

A tasty close-up! 

Veggie Farro Soup

The Ingredients

1 cup farro

2 carrots

1/2 diced onion

1/2 bag pre-cut kale

8 veggie stock cubes

1 tbsp tomato paste
salt
pepper

First, rinse the farro to remove it of any grit. Peel and dice the carrots. Then, throw the veggie stock cubes into a crock pot. Add the farro, carrots, and kale. Dice onion and add to the mixture. Keep on low heat and cook for 4 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. I added mini turkey meatballs to mine and topped with some grated parmesan cheese for additional flavor. 

Delicious close-up

YUM!

Creamy Beet Soup

The Ingredients

2 beets

12 beet veggie stock cubes

1/4 diced red onion

1/2 container cream cheese

sea salt

I had beets, veggie stock, and cream cheese that I was determined to turn into a delicious recipe. 

First, dice the beets and onion. Throw them into a crock pot with the veggie stock cubes. Then, add cream cheese and sea salt. Stir occasionally. Leave on high heat for about one hour. Then, purée using an immersion blender. The final product ends up being a lovely magenta color. Enjoy!

1 Person Buttery Waffle

The Ingredients

1 egg

3 tbsp melted butter

2 tsp baking powder

1 pinch salt

3 tbsp white sugar

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla

Add all ingredients into a bowl and use a waffle iron to cook. I topped it with butter and organic maple syrup. 

Enjoy! 

Italian-Style Marinated Eggplant

The Ingredients

6 Italian or Japanese eggplants (they are skinny and FULL of flavor)

1 cup red wine vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves

3 sprigs of parsley

sea salt

red chili flakes

Warning: this is a long process to preserve eggplants. Only do this if you have a lot of time to spare.

First, peel the eggplants. Then, cut off the top and bottom. Slice eggplants into thin quarters. Then, place a heavy bowl/weight on them to remove excess water for at least one hour. Doing this will allow you to infuse them with a lot of flavor. Then, throw the eggplants (they should be somewhat mushy at this point) into a pot with water and 1 cup of red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil. Then, squeeze out excess water out of the eggplant and keep in the pot for 15 minutes. Keep squeezing so they are all dente and removed of the excess liquid. Then, place the eggplant into a jar with parsley, hot pepper, garlic cloves, and olive oil. Submerge the eggplant and keep them there for at least a week to completely be infused with the flavors in the jar. They will be good for at least two weeks...if they last that long! They are a delicious condiment on sandwiches, great with small plates and wine, and also delicious on crackers. 

The eggplants

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

The oil

What they should look like prior to adding to the olive oil mixture

 In the jar

Final product! 

Carrot Soup

The Ingredients

9 carrots

3 parsnips

2 potatoes

1 container veggie stock

3 cloves garlic

1 red onion

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 cups water

4 bay leaves

ginger

cumin

coriander

black pepper

sea salt

chili flakes

thyme

Peel carrots and parsnips and chop into small pieces. Peel the potatoes and dice. Throw the veggie stock into the crock pot with diced vegetables. Then, dice some garlic and onion and throw into the mixture on low hear. Add olive oil, bay leaves, water, and spices to taste. Cook on low heat for 1-2 hours. Then, purée. Enjoy! 

Onion Tomato Veggie Broth

The Ingredients

1/4 white onion

1/4 red onion

skins of 4 potatoes

3 scallions

1/2 baby leek

skins from 4 carrots

parsley

20 peppercorns

3 bay leaves

2 tbsp tomato paste

thyme

rosemary

sea kelp salt

Throw all ingredients into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer. The whole process should take about 30-40 minutes. The broth should be a nice orange color. Freeze in an ice tray to preserve. 

Enjoy!