Moving!

I am moving to wordpress because google says I have no more space for photos. I'm sure I do, given that one says 0%, another 1% and another 25%, but I can't even upload the photo to show that.

I'm now at http://ovenlovinalex.wordpress.com/

And there are already some posts!

Fried Peppers with Garlic

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 bell peppers, cut into chunks
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• rice

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in a pan.
2) Add the bell peppers and garlic at the same time.








3) Heat until the peppers are soft.
4) Serve with rice.

French Toast with Cinnamon Apple

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP butter
• 1 apple, cored and sliced
• cinnamon
• sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 slices of wheat bread

Directions:

1) Melt the butter.
2) Cook the apple over medium heat for a minute or two.








3) Add the cinnamon and sugar and cook until it is soft. Then remove.
4) Mix the eggs and the milk.
5) Dip the bread into the egg and milk mixture (both sides).
6) Add to the same pan that the apples were in and cook until crispy, then flip.
7) Cook until crispy on the other side.

Mexican Pasta

A lot of the same ingredients as the Minestrone Soup but in different amounts and with some spiciness.

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 leeks, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 cup of tomato sauce
• 2 cups of pasta, mostly cooked (it will finish cooking in the sauce)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
•  Parmesan cheese (or Cotija cheese if you can get it)

Directions:
1) Heat the oil in a pot.
2) Add the onion and cook until it is translucent, about 3 minutes.
3) Add the leeks and carrots until they soften a bit, about 3 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper.





4) Add the jalapeno, pasta, and tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
5) Allow to cook until the pasta is cooked and carrots soften.
6) Serve with cilantro and Parmesan.

Minestrone Soup

A good soup for when the weather is just starting to get cold. Even better when reheated!

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 leeks, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 potato, diced
• 1 can of beans (I used kidney because it was all I could find)
• 1/2 a cup of parsley, chopped
• 1 bag of spinach, chopped
• marinara sauce
• water or vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of cooked pasta

Directions:

1) Heat 4 TBSP oil in a pot.
2) Add the onions and let sweat until they become soft (you may need to add more oil to prevent burning).







3) Add the leeks, carrot, potato, salt and pepper and cook for a few mores minutes, until they begin to soften.








4) Add the beans, parsley and spinach until the spinach wilts.








5) Add the stock or water (to cover), and add half as much marinara sauce.
6) Simmer until the vegetables are soft.
7) Add the Parmesan cheese and pasta and cook until the cheese has mostly dissolved and the pasta is warmed.

 So much soup...

Cucumber and Feta Salad

Supposed to be a wrap, with the cucumber cut using a mandoline or peeler and the rest of the ingredients inside. But, I don't have any way to keeping them together so I made a salad. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers
• 1 block of feta cheese, or 6 oz
• 5 TBSP yoghurt or Greek yoghurt
• 1/4 of a red bell pepper, chopped fine
• 10 olives, chopped fine
• 2 TBSP lemon juice or lime juice
• pepper

Directions:

1) Cut the cucumbers into bite sized pieces.









2) Chop the feta finely, and then smash with a fork.
3) Add the yoghurt and combine.
4) Add the bell pepper, olives, lemon and pepper and combine.






5) Mix with the cucumber.
6) Serve with parsley.

Crusty Potato Fingers

The ingredients sound odd, but it was great, especially with lemon juice on top.

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut lengthways into strips
• water
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1/2 inch of ginger, chopped
• salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 TBSP corn starch or corn flour
• crushed corn flakes
• oil

Directions:

1)  Heat water and boil the sliced potatoes near to the point where you can puncture them with a fork.
2) Remove from the water and let drain. 
3) Mix the onion, green pepper, garlic and salt. Their directions say to a paste, but I'm not sure how to turn a onion into a paste without a blender, masher or something similar.
4) Add the flour, corn starch and 2 TBSP water.
5) Heat oil in a pan.
6) Dip the potato in the onion and flour mixture, then the corn flakes, then place in the oil.

7) Flip when it is starting to brown on one side if necessary.







8) Remove from oil and place on a paper towel to drain the oil.
9) Serve with sauces, or just lemon juice which had the perfect amount of acid.

 look at the crisp!

Creamed Spinach

Not the prettyist thing I've ever made, but delicious because it's cheese and spinach. Be great for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 1 bag of spinach, washed
• 1/4 stick of butter
• 2 TBSP flour
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 tube of Kraft Parmesan cheese (or the equivalent)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Heat the olive oil in a pot (not a pan).
2) Add the garlic, and let cook for about 30 seconds, before it browns.
3) Add the onion until it softens.






4) Add the spinach and put the cover on the pot for about 3 minutes.
5) Remove the contents of the pot and place into a strainer or colander.
6) Add the butter until it melts.





7) Add the flour to make a roux.









8) Add the spinach mixture so the roux covers it.









9) Add the milk, Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Japanese Cucumber

Too vinegary on toast for me, but good with pasta.

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber
• vinegar
• soy sauce
• 1 TBSP sesame oil
• 1 TBSP sesame seeds
• 3 slices of ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed once with a knife (unnecessary to cut into pieces)
• pasta, noodles, toast, rice

Directions:

1) Cut the cucumber into chunks.
2) Place into a container you can keep it in overnight or for a few days.
3) Add 2 parts soy sauce for every 3 parts vinegar (I estimated with my eyes).
4) Add the sesame oil, sesame seeds, ginger and garlic.
5) Serve with pasta, noodles, toast or rice.