A Vegetarian Feast

Wild Mushroom Quesadillas adapted from the following Epicurious.com link

Melt 2 tablespoons olive oil and saute

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup chopped onion

Add:
12 ounces fresh wild mushroom, I used Cremini aka baby bella
and stir until tender

Add:
5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
6 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 medium tomatoes, seeded, chopped
4 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat through for anther 3 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.Assemble the filling inbetween two tortillas.  Grill on each side over medium high heat 2 minutes or until brown.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wild-mushroom-Enchiladas-with-Ancho-Chili-Cream-Sauce-4097#ixzz0sFeykTSd

Served with my guacamole and home made salsa

Garbanzo bean salad with corn, raisins, green onion, roasted red peppers, feta and olives, marinated in olive oil and red wine vinegar 

 Matthew Pechanio brought his first ever Peach Pie.  When I called him earlier that afternoon to discuss what to bring he and Kris were blanching peaches.  The result...delicious! 

Stawberrie Rhubarb Pie with Grandma Donna's Buttermilk Pie Crust

Combine 1 1/2 c. sugar

3T. Quick cooking tapioca

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

Add: 3 c. rhubarb cut in 1/2 in. peices

1 c. sliced fresh strawberries

Mix to coat fruit and allow to stand for 20 minutes

Prepare pastry for a 9' pie and prebake

Fill crust with fruit and dot with 1 T. butter

Top with top crust or lattice crust

Bake @ 400 for 35-40 minutes

Grandma's pie crust coming soon...

Farewell to Mere: Wine Club, Sunday Supper and Hookah, could we have a more random evening?!?

It started with Wine Club, noting taste profiles in our food journal.  The nights of drinking wine soon morphed into elaborate meals accompanied by wine and great conversation.  In the last few years we shared a good number of our best meals and bottles of wine with our great friends Seth and Meredith Maddox.  The following entry was made by Meredith when they brought us dinner, one of our first nights in our new place.

"First meal at the dinning room table on Cuyler Ave. Eclectic meal brought by the Maddoxs: Cashew Chili spiced chicken sate with peanut sauce, spinach salad with basil, tomato and peppers, and chocolate pudding brownies with espresso.  

Wine: Caro Dorum & Goldeneye both received a rating of 90.5

'They excel at different things'

A wonderful night!"

-Meredith 7/31/2009

         

While I don't have pictures of all our meals, the following pics are from our farewell meal together before Meredith left to train in Baltimore.  

Baguette, grilled vegetables, lamb shank, and beef fillet, mashed potatoes, Lemon Caesar Salad, Strawberry Rhubarb Pudding Cake.

To top off our last night before Meredith's departure for training we celebrated with Hookah on the UIC campus.  I think we had Pink and Fruit, how I wish we had pictures of the "after party"!

Peanut Butter Kisses "Krinkles"

A recipe from the kitchen of Linda Erickson, a close family friend.  These cookies have traditionally been made at Christmas in the Calvin/Beahrs households, but Sous Chef Catherine requested the recipe...so cheers to Peanut Butter Kisses in June!

Preheat the oven to 350

Cream below ingredients in a large bowl:

1 c. butter

1c. peanut butter

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Sift and stir into creamed mixture:

2 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. soda

1 t. salt

Form the dough into 1 in. diameter balls, roll balls in a shallow plate of granular sugar to cover each ball

Bake 2 in. apart for 12-15 minutes remove from the oven and place a Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie.  Allow to cool before transporting.

My First Vegetable Garden

Our back yard has enough space and just enough sun for a vegetable garden.  I planted by seed two weeks ago accept for these heirloom tomatoes my Dad started in March.  If all goes according to plan I'll have Green Zebra, Red and Yellow varieties. 

Tomatoes

Row by row

Spring Greens