FEEDS: 2

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 2-3 strips bacon
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 5-6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 C. cooked, diced potatoes
• salt and pepper
• 4 eggs

LET'S COOK

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Dice the bacon into small pieces while it’s raw. Cook it in a heavy gauge saute pan over a medium high burner just until it’s done. Remove it, using a slotted spoon, to a paper towel to drain it. Pour off the rendered bacon fat to discard it.

Place the pan back on the burner, add the olive oil and then slide in the diced onions and the mushrooms. Cook it up until they take on some color or caramelize. Add the diced potatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook to heat it all through and give the potatoes some color as well.

Crack the eggs onto the top of the bacon and vegetable saute. Slide the whole pan into the oven and set your timer for 3 minutes. When the time elapses, remove from the oven, divide onto two plates and serve with a muffin or your favorite toast.

MORE IDEAS:

If you like more variety in a dish like this, consider slicing and cooking some peppers, even some cooked broccoli in the mix.

Also, if you like your egg yolks a bit more firm, cook an additional 2 minutes in the oven.

FEEDS: 2-4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 4-5 carrots, peeled and cut on the bias
• 2 C. raw broccoli buds, cut into equal size pieces
• 3-4 T. Satay Sauce

LET'S COOK

Place a pot of water on the stove on a high burner. When it’s a rolling boil, add the raw carrots and cook just until they’re tender, or firm to the bite. Using a slotted spoon, remove the carrots to a strainer in the sink.

Place the pot back on the stove, return to a boil and then add the broccoli. Cook the green vegetable just until it’s done, again, firm to the bite. Drain over the carrots in the strainer in the sink.

Return the vegetables back to the pot they were cooked in and then gently stir in the Satay sauce. Cover and allow to sit for 3-5 minutes and serve.

MORE IDEAS:

Satay Sauce is a peanut based dipping sauce used in Thai cuisine for dipping spring rolls. The sauce gives cooked vegetables great flavor with little effort on the part of whom ever is cooking dinner.

This recipe is especially good with broiled chicken or even a steak.

FEEDS: 2-4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1 lb. bow tie or other pasta shape
• 3-4 T. olive oil
• 5-6 cloves sliced fresh garlic
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 C. fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 C. sliced fresh basil
• 1-2 T. olive oil (additional)
• 2-3 T. grated parmesan cheese

LET'S COOK

Put a large pot of water on the stove, salt it well and bring to a boil. When it reaches a rolling boil, drop in the pasta, stir and allow to cook.

Meanwhile, heat the 3-4 T. of oil in a saute pan, add the garlic, season with some salt and pepper and stir it up. Be careful not to brown it, just sizzle it for 20 or 30 seconds. Drop in the tomatoes and stir gently, then add the basil. Mix it together well and then turn off the burner.

Stir the pasta occasionally and when it’s just firm to the bite, drain it. Pour the additional 1-2 T. of oil into the pot the pasta was cooked in, add the drained pasta, stir it up, then add the tomato saute. Stir to combine well, then add the parmesan cheese. Serve right away with additional cheese for personal tastes.

MORE IDEAS:

For best results in this formula, use fresh, vine ripened tomatoes that are very meaty.

FEEDS: 2-3

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1/4 C. flour
• salt and pepper
• 2-3 fresh turbot filets
• 2-3 T. olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1-2 T. fresh chopped parsley

LET'S COOK

Place the flour in a shallow dish and season it with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the oil in a saute pan and heat it over a medium high burner. Dust each fish filet in the flour mix, then place them in the hot oil.

Cook on both sides just until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes per side. During the last minute of cooking, drizzle the lemon juice over the filets. When the fish is just firm and just cooked, remove to warm serving plates.

Place the pan back on the burner and throw in the diced tomato and the chopped parsley. An additional tablespoon of olive oil is O.K. to add now if the pan seems dry. Toss the mixture together just to combine it and warm the diced tomato through. Divide the pan sauce over the fish filets and serve without hesitation.

MORE IDEAS:

You can apply this recipe to filets of sole, haddock, halibut or even tilapia with great results.

FEEDS: 2-4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1 T. grated onion
• 4-5 T. olive oil
• 2 T. balsamic vinegar
• pinch black pepper
• tomato slices
• fresh mozzarella slices
• fresh basil leaves

LET'S COOK

Grate the onion over a mixing bowl. Then add the oil, balsamic and a pinch of freshly grated black pepper. Whip to emulsify the dressing.

Next, stack the basil leaves in a neat pile, all going in the same direction. Use a sharp knife to slice them into thin strips, called a chiffonade cut.

Arrange four salad plates on the counter. Place a slice of tomato on each one, then scatter each with some of the finely sliced basil. Next, overlap a slice of the fresh mozzarella on the basil topped tomato, and scatter some more basil on the cheese.

Repeat the process all over again so you end up with 2 slices of tomato, 2 of the mozzarella and basil between the overlapping slices on each plate.

When it’s time to serve, whip the dressing once again and then spoon it evenly over the four salads. Serve at once.

MORE IDEAS:

Be sure that your tomatoes are seasonal and perfectly ripe.

Make every effort to use fresh mozzarella cheese, the texture is great in this salad.

Red onion or even a Vadallia onion will work well in this formula.

FEEDS: 4-6

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1 C. fresh basil leaves
• 3 cloves sliced, fresh garlic
• 1/2 C. grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 C. olive oil

LET'S COOK

Stuff the basil leaves in the bottom of a food processor. Place the garlic on that, then the parmesan cheese. Drizzle with the olive oil. Cover and pulse until the contents are an evenly mixed, thick green paste.

Boil a pound of any shape of pasta you enjoy, drain it when the pasta is el dente, return the cooked, hot pasta back into the pot it was cooked in, add the pesto and stir to evenly combine the two together. Serve right away.

MORE IDEAS:

If you have a bumper crop of fresh basil, make this recipe, fill an ice cube tray with the pesto and freeze it overnight. The next day, pop the cubes into a zip style bag and keep them in the freezer.

When you make tomato sauce, add a cube or two of the pesto. Also add pesto to a vegetable soup for wonderful flavor enhancement.

This pasta and pesto dish is also quite good cold served on a buffet or with a sandwich as a side dish.

When you think about it, the only blue food we consume is blueberries. Furthermore, food psychologists claim that other than blueberries, blue foods are unappetizing.

Blue icing is never a favorite request for birthday cakes. Blue mashed potatoes don't exist and blue chicken or whipped cream simply does not sound good at all.

On the positive side, blueberries are one of nature’s gifts to our appetites. And, contemporary knowledge has suggested that the mighty blueberry is extremely good for us.

As a child, blueberry season meant a trip to a secluded site in the woods, a clearing of land with neat rows of the bushes that yielded the blue fruits. With small buckets in hand, we would strip the branches of the blue clusters, always managing to pop a few in my mouth as the picking progressed. The prize was a field of cultivated bushes that had fruit the size of the end of your thumb. It made filling the buckets a task of little effort.

As an adult living in the Adirondacks, blueberries were a wild fruit, savored on hikes and woodsy explorations. Short bushes, no more than 12 to 14 inches tall, clustered on shallow hillsides near lakes.

The tiny, very dark blue berries are the sweetest in the world, by far. Time consuming to harvest, they reward with their precious flavor.

In the kitchen, blueberries are a treat to savor. Scattered over a fruit salad, they should always be the last ingredients, splashed as a garnish. Maple syrup, warmed, is best when a handful of blueberries are tossed inside to be eventually slathered over a tall stack of hot cakes.

I still have vivid and tantalizing memories of a blueberry upside-down cake of years ago that was always host to a diminutive scoop of the best vanilla ice cream one could buy.

FEEDS: 2-4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1 t. fresh thyme, chopped
• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 carrots, sliced, cooked and cooled
• 1 handful green beans, trimmed, cooked and cooled
• 1/3 C. chick peas
• 1/4 C. black olives, oil cured, pitted and sliced

LET'S COOK

Place the garlic, thyme, oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Whip to combine well.

Drop in the remaining ingredients and toss gently to evenly distribute the dressing over all the vegetables. Serve with grilled chicken or pork.

MORE IDEAS:

For more interesting flavors, try using fresh tarragon instead of the thyme. For best retention of colors, mix the salad just prior to serving.

FEEDS: 2-4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1/2 lb. thin pasta
• 1/3 C. olive oil
• 4-5 cloves fresh garlic, sliced
• 1/3 C. black, pitted olives, sliced
• 1 medium size tomato, diced
• 1 T. basil pesto
• 1/3 C. grated parmesan cheese

LET'S COOK

Place a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, stir and cook.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over a medium high burner. Add the sliced garlic and allow to sizzle just until it begins to become fragrant. Be careful not to brown it. Add the olives, stir it up, then add the pesto. After mixing in the pesto, stir in the tomato and mix it gently together.

When the pasta is el dente, drain it and immediately mix it into the olive mix, fold in the parmesan cheese and serve.

MORE IDEAS:

Use any sort of pasta shape that you like. It’s O.K. to get creative with the olives, use a variety that appeals to your palate.

Tossing in a handful of fresh basil or parsley at the last minute extends the flavor factor.

FEEDS: 2-4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1 fresh pork tenderloin
• 1/2 C. flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/3 C. seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/3 C. yellow corn meal
• 1/3 C. matzo meal
• 3-4 T. canola oil

LET'S COOK

Cut the fresh pork tenderloin into 1/4 inch thick slices. Use the palm of your hand to flatten them to a uniform thickness.

Blend the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Whip the egg with a tablespoon of water in another bowl. Finally, mix the breadcrumbs, corn meal and matzo meal in another bowl.

One by one, dust each piece of flattened pork in the flour mix, then evenly coat in the egg wash and finally, pat each one evenly in the breadcrumb mixture. Lay them, not touching or overlapping, on a platter.

Heat the oil in a saute pan and slide in the breaded pork. Saute on both sides to an even, golden brown. Plate up and serve with a side of rice and any green vegetable.

MORE IDEAS:

This breading recipe renders a crispy and crunchy crust. Try it on a flattened, boneless,skinless chicken breast. Or, simply pat a fresh filet of fish directly in the breadcrumb mix, then saute in hot oil and serve with a wedge of fresh lemon or lime.