Pizza for Breakfast!

Today I made what I call "breakfast pizza".  No, it's not leftover pizza ordered in the night before.....it's my version of what looks like a pizza, but there's no flour or dough.....it's eggs.  It's a split between an omelette and a flat crepe.  So easy to make.  Just saute whatever ingredients you like (I used finely chopped onions, garlic, mushrooms and red, orange and green peppers), then I pour in beaten eggs to fill the saute pan and cook on medium/low heat for about 5 minutes.  I sprinkle grated cheese on top, then I put the pan under the broiler for just a few minutes to melt the cheese and set the egg/pizza.  Delicioso!

Tomorrow I harvest home grown sunflower sprouts

Fresh homegrown sunflower sprouts are a delight in a salad, on a sandwich or as a nice touch as a garnishment to create an eye appealing plate.  I decided to try my hand at growing my own.  I purchased the seeds at my favorite market in Santa Monica, "The Co-opportunity Market".   I soaked 3/4 cup of the seeds overnight then lined a large plate with parchment and spread out some organic potting soil on it.   I sprinkled the seeds atop the soil, gave it a good water spray, then covered it with wet newspaper (yes, that's right, newspaper) then put it in a large dark brown lawn and leaf bag. I placed this in a dark closet for 3 days then I uncovered the brown bag and saw little sprouts popping up.  I placed this in the sun outside and sprayed it with water every day for 4 days and now I have wonderful sprouts for my next salad.  This was a fun project and I love that I get to have a supply of sprouts for the next several days.  If you love sunflower sprouts growing your own is fun, easy and economical.

A Middle Eastern/Mediterranean Salad Dressing

Louisa, a new friend of mine,  gave me a supply of ground sumac from a local Armenian market.  So....what did I do?  I got creative and made a tasty salad dressing to toss over dark green and red romaine lettuce, toasted walnuts and sliced avocado. Here's the recipe for Creamy Sumac Salad Dressing.

Put all the below ingredients into a blender or food processor:

1 small or medium clove fresh garlic, pressed (use the entire clove)

Juice of one medium to large lemon

½ cup Greek non-fat yogurt (Chobani brand is really good) – or for a vegan version, use tofu

1 teaspoon ground sumac

¼ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Several teaspoons fresh parsley leaves

¼ cup EVOO

Process to a smooth consistency.  

For a thicker dipping sauce, use more greek yogurt.  For smoother more liquid salad dressing use slightly more EVOO.

Thanks for the sumac Louisa!

This week I'm cooking Mediterranean

I love to cook a variety of ethnic cuisines.  Last month I cooked a lot of Indian food for clients, family and friends.  Now with the beginning of Spring and warmer weather, I am gravitating to cooking Mediterranean.
I made tahini from scratch (all it really is, is sesame seeds and olive oil finely ground in a food processor.)   Easy.

Using the freshly made tahini, I prepared a wonderful roasted red pepper hummus.  I always make hummus from organic dried garbanzo beans (not canned).  I soak beans overnight, then cook them, then make the hummus in a food processor.  Yesterday I made dolmas - stuffed grape leaves.  Oh, oh, oh.....nothing like freshly made stuffed grape leaves.  I prepared the filling first (bulgar based) then rolled it up in the pretty grape leaves, then steamed them for 1/2 hr.  

First I laid out the grape leaf,

I added the filling then rolled up the grape leaf

Voila, stuffed grape leaves to die for!