Recipe from Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Makes one dozen cupcakes
As I was preparing for the quinoa cooking demonstration at Lost River Market & Deli, I noticed that the store had quinoa flour in the baking aisle. I bought some and tested this cupcake recipe that was on the package. These cupcakes are gluten free for those who are sensitive to gluten. For those of you who are new to quinoa flour (like me) you may be a bit surprised at the aroma of the batter. It smells a bit different from typical chocolate batter. Whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks and folding them in to the batter helps the cupcakes rise. I wasn’t sure what my hubby would think of cupcakes made with quinoa flour, but he really liked them! We both thought the cupcakes were quite tender. I didn’t ice these, but you certainly could. I think giving them a little dusting of powdered sugar would be nice, but they were puffy and pretty without any sugary embellishment.
• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 1/4 cups Organic Quinoa Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Large Eggs, separated
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 cup Sour Cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the butter and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Sift together the sugar, quinoa flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the cooled cocoa mixture, egg yolks, vanilla and sour cream and blend well. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter.
Spoon into a muffin tin lined with paper cupcake liners. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Each cupcake contains Calories 160, Calories from Fat 45, Total Fat 5g, Saturated Fat 3g, Cholesterol 10mg, Sodium 180mg, Total Carbohydrates 27g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 17g, Protein 3g.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Quinoa Breakfast
Recipe from Savvy Vegetarian
Adapted and husband-tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Makes 1 to 2 servings.
My husband is pretty set in his ways when it comes to breakfast. He loves his Steel Cut Oats in the Crockpot (recipe on this blog) and was reluctant to try this, not because it was quinoa, but because he thought I was trying to put a wrench in his precious morning routine of oatmeal. So, I made this for me and had him taste it to make this an official blog entry. He really liked this because it was very similar to his oatmeal. He said he liked the texture and the fact that it’s nutritious. I thought this was quite delicious and filling. I made a batch of quinoa in advance and stored it in the fridge. The next morning, all I had to do was dip out a cup of the cooked quinoa, add the goodies (nuts, dried fruit, etc….) and heat it a bit on the stove. The original recipe did not call for a banana or stevia. Even though I love our local maple syrup and other sweets, I wanted to try another sweet alternative, so I added a little banana and one packet of stevia for sweetness.
1 cup cooked quinoa** (Directions are at the bottom of this recipe.)
¼ cup nuts (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts, almonds)
¼ cup raisins (I used golden raisins because I had them on hand.)
a few slices of banana
¼ cup chopped dried fruit (apricots, dried cranberries, currants, blueberries, chopped figs or dates)
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup almond, hemp or soy milk, flavored or plain (I used unflavored unsweetened almond milk)
1 Tbsp maple syrup, brown rice syrup, agave nectar or one packet of stevia
Combine all ingredients in a two quart saucepan.
Heat on medium-low, stirring, until the quinoa has soaked up the liquid, and the dried fruit has plumped up nicely.
Add more milk if needed until the consistency pleases you.
**Basic Recipe: (Makes 3 cups)
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
Rinse the quinoa well and drain. Place quinoa and water in a 1½ quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until all of the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes.) You will know that the quinoa is done when all of the grains have turned from white to transparent and the spiral-like germ has separated.
Adapted and husband-tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Makes 1 to 2 servings.
My husband is pretty set in his ways when it comes to breakfast. He loves his Steel Cut Oats in the Crockpot (recipe on this blog) and was reluctant to try this, not because it was quinoa, but because he thought I was trying to put a wrench in his precious morning routine of oatmeal. So, I made this for me and had him taste it to make this an official blog entry. He really liked this because it was very similar to his oatmeal. He said he liked the texture and the fact that it’s nutritious. I thought this was quite delicious and filling. I made a batch of quinoa in advance and stored it in the fridge. The next morning, all I had to do was dip out a cup of the cooked quinoa, add the goodies (nuts, dried fruit, etc….) and heat it a bit on the stove. The original recipe did not call for a banana or stevia. Even though I love our local maple syrup and other sweets, I wanted to try another sweet alternative, so I added a little banana and one packet of stevia for sweetness.
1 cup cooked quinoa** (Directions are at the bottom of this recipe.)
¼ cup nuts (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts, almonds)
¼ cup raisins (I used golden raisins because I had them on hand.)
a few slices of banana
¼ cup chopped dried fruit (apricots, dried cranberries, currants, blueberries, chopped figs or dates)
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup almond, hemp or soy milk, flavored or plain (I used unflavored unsweetened almond milk)
1 Tbsp maple syrup, brown rice syrup, agave nectar or one packet of stevia
Combine all ingredients in a two quart saucepan.
Heat on medium-low, stirring, until the quinoa has soaked up the liquid, and the dried fruit has plumped up nicely.
Add more milk if needed until the consistency pleases you.
**Basic Recipe: (Makes 3 cups)
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
Rinse the quinoa well and drain. Place quinoa and water in a 1½ quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until all of the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes.) You will know that the quinoa is done when all of the grains have turned from white to transparent and the spiral-like germ has separated.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Mocha Java Smoothie
Recipe from So Easy by Ellie Krieger
Makes 2 servings
Serving size: 2 1/2 cups
We gave our daughter-in-law the So Easy cookbook for Christmas. I couldn’t help but take a peek at the book before wrapping it up to put under the tree. The photo of this mocha smoothie caught my eye, so I copied down the recipe to try after the holidays. My husband isn’t much of a coffee drinker, so I decided to halve the recipe. My plan was to give him a little taste to make it official, and then drink the rest myself. I drank 2 glasses for a breakfast/coffee combo! I really like this and will make it again. I think it would also make a nice chocolaty dessert after a heavy meal. I followed the recipe exactly with one exception. I used stevia instead of sugar. Produced from a member of the daisy family, stevia is an all-natural sweetener with zero calories, zero carbohydrates and a zero glycemic index. These attributes make stevia a good alternative to sugar or chemical sweeteners. Especially popular as a sweetener for coffees and teas, Stevia can also be used in cooking and baking. (The nutritional information at the end of this recipe includes the sugar, so if you use stevia instead, the smoothie will have fewer calories.) You can buy stevia and instant espresso at Lost River Market & Deli.
1 tablespoon sugar or 2 packets SweetLeaf SteviaPlus Sweetener
2 rounded teaspoons instant espresso or 2 shots of espresso
2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
2 cups skim milk (or a bit more to thin the smoothie a bit)
2 ripe bananas, peeled, cut into chunks, frozen
1 cup ice (or a bit more to thin the smoothie a bit)
In a blender, stir together the sugar, instant espresso, and cocoa powder. Add the boiling water and stir until dissolved. (If using regular espresso, stir the sugar and cocoa into the coffee until dissolved.) Add the milk, bananas, and ice, and blend on high until smooth.
Quick tip: To help your morning go more smoothly, put all the smoothie ingredients, except the frozen bananas and ice, in the blender jug the night before. Cover and stash in the refrigerator. In the morning just add the frozen ingredients and whir.
Makes 2 servings.
Serving size: 2 1/2 cups
Per serving:
Calories 210 (It’s only 165 calories if you replace the sugar with stevia.)
Total fat 1 g
Sat fat 0.5 g Mono fat 0 g Poly fat 0 g
Protein 10 g
Carb 44 g
Fiber 4 g
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 130 mg
Excellent source of: Calcium, iodine, phosphorus, potassium, protein, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin C.
Good source of: Fiber, magnesium, manganese, pantothenic acid, vitamin B1.
Makes 2 servings
Serving size: 2 1/2 cups
We gave our daughter-in-law the So Easy cookbook for Christmas. I couldn’t help but take a peek at the book before wrapping it up to put under the tree. The photo of this mocha smoothie caught my eye, so I copied down the recipe to try after the holidays. My husband isn’t much of a coffee drinker, so I decided to halve the recipe. My plan was to give him a little taste to make it official, and then drink the rest myself. I drank 2 glasses for a breakfast/coffee combo! I really like this and will make it again. I think it would also make a nice chocolaty dessert after a heavy meal. I followed the recipe exactly with one exception. I used stevia instead of sugar. Produced from a member of the daisy family, stevia is an all-natural sweetener with zero calories, zero carbohydrates and a zero glycemic index. These attributes make stevia a good alternative to sugar or chemical sweeteners. Especially popular as a sweetener for coffees and teas, Stevia can also be used in cooking and baking. (The nutritional information at the end of this recipe includes the sugar, so if you use stevia instead, the smoothie will have fewer calories.) You can buy stevia and instant espresso at Lost River Market & Deli.
1 tablespoon sugar or 2 packets SweetLeaf SteviaPlus Sweetener
2 rounded teaspoons instant espresso or 2 shots of espresso
2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
2 cups skim milk (or a bit more to thin the smoothie a bit)
2 ripe bananas, peeled, cut into chunks, frozen
1 cup ice (or a bit more to thin the smoothie a bit)
In a blender, stir together the sugar, instant espresso, and cocoa powder. Add the boiling water and stir until dissolved. (If using regular espresso, stir the sugar and cocoa into the coffee until dissolved.) Add the milk, bananas, and ice, and blend on high until smooth.
Quick tip: To help your morning go more smoothly, put all the smoothie ingredients, except the frozen bananas and ice, in the blender jug the night before. Cover and stash in the refrigerator. In the morning just add the frozen ingredients and whir.
Makes 2 servings.
Serving size: 2 1/2 cups
Per serving:
Calories 210 (It’s only 165 calories if you replace the sugar with stevia.)
Total fat 1 g
Sat fat 0.5 g Mono fat 0 g Poly fat 0 g
Protein 10 g
Carb 44 g
Fiber 4 g
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 130 mg
Excellent source of: Calcium, iodine, phosphorus, potassium, protein, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin C.
Good source of: Fiber, magnesium, manganese, pantothenic acid, vitamin B1.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Apricot Jam or Mango Chutney Salad Dressing
Recipe adapted from Everyday Food and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
I needed a seasonal salad to serve during the holidays. The original recipe called for ingredients I didn’t have on hand, so I made a few minor adjustments. The dressing was especially good with the peppery arugula, sweet pears, crunchy nuts and salty cheese. I will certainly keep this salad in my repertoire! You can find all of the ingredients at Lost River Market & Deli.
2 Tablespoons apricot jam or mango chutney (I used apricot jam.)
2 Tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon curry powder (I used hot curry powder.)
2 Tablespoons olive oil (I used just a bit more for a thinner consistency.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Place the dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid. Give it a good shaking to incorporate the ingredients. This dressing can be made in advance and then served over a salad of arugula, fresh pear slices, golden raisins, dried cherries or cranberries, toasted walnuts or pecans (hot spicy nuts would be yummy) and a sprinkling of blue cheese or goat cheese.
I needed a seasonal salad to serve during the holidays. The original recipe called for ingredients I didn’t have on hand, so I made a few minor adjustments. The dressing was especially good with the peppery arugula, sweet pears, crunchy nuts and salty cheese. I will certainly keep this salad in my repertoire! You can find all of the ingredients at Lost River Market & Deli.
2 Tablespoons apricot jam or mango chutney (I used apricot jam.)
2 Tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon curry powder (I used hot curry powder.)
2 Tablespoons olive oil (I used just a bit more for a thinner consistency.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Place the dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid. Give it a good shaking to incorporate the ingredients. This dressing can be made in advance and then served over a salad of arugula, fresh pear slices, golden raisins, dried cherries or cranberries, toasted walnuts or pecans (hot spicy nuts would be yummy) and a sprinkling of blue cheese or goat cheese.
Lemon Meringue Pie (Kurt’s favorite)
Makes one 9 inch pie
Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
When our son, Kurt, comes home to visit, this is what he always requests. I've tried different lemon meringue recipes, but I always go back to this one. I think it has the best contrast between the tart lemony filling and the sweet meringue. This recipe comes from my very first cookbook. The book is old and worn with pages covered in food stains. I thought maybe I'd better get this recipe typed up before I completely ruin my cookbook! You can get lovely local eggs at Lost River Market & Deli.
1 (9 inch) baked pie shell, cooled to room temperature (See recipe and directions below)
Filling:
3 large egg yolks, room temperature, slightly beaten
1 ½ cups sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 ½ cups water
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (yellow part only)
½ cup fresh lemon juice
Meringue:
3 large egg whites, room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
6 Tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 400°F.
For the filling: In small bowl, beat egg yolks with fork. In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. (This mixture will be almost a grayish milky white color. As it thickens, you’ll see little dark specks. It’s okay, keep going.)
Immediately stir at least half of hot mixture into egg yolks; stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 2 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in butter, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Pour into pie crust.
For the meringue: In medium bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Beat in vanilla. Spoon onto hot pie filling. Spread over filling, carefully sealing meringue to edge of crust to prevent shrinking or weeping. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until meringue is light brown. Cool away from draft 2 hours.
Perfect Pie Dough
(From the kitchen of Martha Stewart and tested in Alice’s Kitchen)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled
½ cup ice-cold water
(The secret to making perfect pie dough is to make sure the ingredients and then the dough itself are very cold. Baking the chilled pie dough in a hot oven makes the butter melt so that it creates steam inside the baking dough. That makes the flaky crust we all want!)
Measure the flour and salt into a food processor with the blade. Cut the ice-cold butter into pat-sized piece and add to the flour mixture. Press the pulse button on the processor until you see pea-sized pieces of butter mixed in to the flour. Don’t over mix. Press the On button of the processor and slowly drizzle the ice-cold water into the feeding tube. When the dough becomes a ball, stop the machine.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces. (The dough won’t be smooth. It’ll be sticky. That’s okay.) Place each piece of dough on plastic wrap and press into thick disks. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and chill for at least a half hour before rolling it out. (The dough can be frozen at this point. Thaw in the refrigerator before rolling out.)
Lightly flour the counter. Starting from the center of the disk, gently roll out the dough into a circle that is about 2 inches larger than the dish you plan to use. Lightly sprinkle with flour as you roll out the dough. Before placing it in the dish, brush the excess flour off with a pastry brush. (Too much flour on the dough makes it tough.) Fold the dough in half and place it in the dish. (Do not stretch the dough because that will make it really shrink.) Fold the extra dough under or over the edge and crimp. Prick the dough with a fork on the bottom and sides of the dough. Place the plastic wrap back over the dish to keep the dough from drying out. Put the dough in the refrigerator while the oven is preheating.
Preheat the oven to 450F degrees. Remove the dish from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Place a piece of foil that is larger than the dough inside the dish and then pour about 2 cups of dried beans into the dish over the foil. Place the pie dough in the hot oven and set the timer for 12 minutes. (The weight of the beans keeps the dough from puffing up.)
When the timer beeps, carefully remove the foil and beans from the dish. (Keep the beans in a glass jar and reuse them as pie weights.)
Place the dough back into the oven and continue baking until it is golden brown all over. Since ovens vary, you will need to check every two minutes or so.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a baking rack.
When the pie dough is cooled, fill it with the lemon filling and top with the meringue as directed.
Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
When our son, Kurt, comes home to visit, this is what he always requests. I've tried different lemon meringue recipes, but I always go back to this one. I think it has the best contrast between the tart lemony filling and the sweet meringue. This recipe comes from my very first cookbook. The book is old and worn with pages covered in food stains. I thought maybe I'd better get this recipe typed up before I completely ruin my cookbook! You can get lovely local eggs at Lost River Market & Deli.
1 (9 inch) baked pie shell, cooled to room temperature (See recipe and directions below)
Filling:
3 large egg yolks, room temperature, slightly beaten
1 ½ cups sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 ½ cups water
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (yellow part only)
½ cup fresh lemon juice
Meringue:
3 large egg whites, room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
6 Tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 400°F.
For the filling: In small bowl, beat egg yolks with fork. In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. (This mixture will be almost a grayish milky white color. As it thickens, you’ll see little dark specks. It’s okay, keep going.)
Immediately stir at least half of hot mixture into egg yolks; stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 2 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in butter, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Pour into pie crust.
For the meringue: In medium bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Beat in vanilla. Spoon onto hot pie filling. Spread over filling, carefully sealing meringue to edge of crust to prevent shrinking or weeping. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until meringue is light brown. Cool away from draft 2 hours.
Perfect Pie Dough
(From the kitchen of Martha Stewart and tested in Alice’s Kitchen)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled
½ cup ice-cold water
(The secret to making perfect pie dough is to make sure the ingredients and then the dough itself are very cold. Baking the chilled pie dough in a hot oven makes the butter melt so that it creates steam inside the baking dough. That makes the flaky crust we all want!)
Measure the flour and salt into a food processor with the blade. Cut the ice-cold butter into pat-sized piece and add to the flour mixture. Press the pulse button on the processor until you see pea-sized pieces of butter mixed in to the flour. Don’t over mix. Press the On button of the processor and slowly drizzle the ice-cold water into the feeding tube. When the dough becomes a ball, stop the machine.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces. (The dough won’t be smooth. It’ll be sticky. That’s okay.) Place each piece of dough on plastic wrap and press into thick disks. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and chill for at least a half hour before rolling it out. (The dough can be frozen at this point. Thaw in the refrigerator before rolling out.)
Lightly flour the counter. Starting from the center of the disk, gently roll out the dough into a circle that is about 2 inches larger than the dish you plan to use. Lightly sprinkle with flour as you roll out the dough. Before placing it in the dish, brush the excess flour off with a pastry brush. (Too much flour on the dough makes it tough.) Fold the dough in half and place it in the dish. (Do not stretch the dough because that will make it really shrink.) Fold the extra dough under or over the edge and crimp. Prick the dough with a fork on the bottom and sides of the dough. Place the plastic wrap back over the dish to keep the dough from drying out. Put the dough in the refrigerator while the oven is preheating.
Preheat the oven to 450F degrees. Remove the dish from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Place a piece of foil that is larger than the dough inside the dish and then pour about 2 cups of dried beans into the dish over the foil. Place the pie dough in the hot oven and set the timer for 12 minutes. (The weight of the beans keeps the dough from puffing up.)
When the timer beeps, carefully remove the foil and beans from the dish. (Keep the beans in a glass jar and reuse them as pie weights.)
Place the dough back into the oven and continue baking until it is golden brown all over. Since ovens vary, you will need to check every two minutes or so.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a baking rack.
When the pie dough is cooled, fill it with the lemon filling and top with the meringue as directed.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Prosciutto, Fontina & Sun-Dried Tomato Sandwiches
Recipe from The Best of Fine Cooking Appetizers and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Serves ten as an appetizer or two to three as a main course
If you like salty flavors and gooey cheese, you’ll love these little sandwiches. We cut them into wedges and served them as appetizers at our Boxing Day Party. These would also make a very fine lunch for friends along with a hot vegetable soup. You can find all of the ingredients at Lost River Market & Deli!
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, smashed
5 oz. baby spinach (about 5 lightly packed cups)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1/4 cups grated fontina cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
Three 7- to 8-inch pitas, each split into two rounds
6 very thin slices prosciutto (about 3-1/2 oz.)
Heat the oven to 250°F. Heat the oil and garlic in a 10-inch heavy-duty skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat until the garlic starts to sizzle steadily and browns in places, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper, and cook, tossing, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer the spinach to a colander. Let cool a couple of minutes, discard the garlic, and gently squeeze out the excess liquid from the spinach.
In a medium bowl, toss the spinach with the fontina, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Set 3 of the pita halves on a work space and top each with 2 slices of the prosciutto. Top each evenly with the spinach mixture and set the remaining 3 pita halves on top.
Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel and heat the pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add one of the pita sandwiches and set another medium heavy skillet on top of the sandwich. Put 2 lb. of weights (cans work well) in the empty skillet to weigh it down and cook the sandwich until the bottom starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until it browns and the cheese starts to melt out the sides, about 2 minutes. (You could also use a grill pan like we did, or even a pannini press, fi you have one.) Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Cook the remaining sandwiches in the same manner. Cut the sandwiches in wedges and serve.
Serves ten as an appetizer or two to three as a main course
If you like salty flavors and gooey cheese, you’ll love these little sandwiches. We cut them into wedges and served them as appetizers at our Boxing Day Party. These would also make a very fine lunch for friends along with a hot vegetable soup. You can find all of the ingredients at Lost River Market & Deli!
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, smashed
5 oz. baby spinach (about 5 lightly packed cups)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1/4 cups grated fontina cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
Three 7- to 8-inch pitas, each split into two rounds
6 very thin slices prosciutto (about 3-1/2 oz.)
Heat the oven to 250°F. Heat the oil and garlic in a 10-inch heavy-duty skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat until the garlic starts to sizzle steadily and browns in places, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper, and cook, tossing, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer the spinach to a colander. Let cool a couple of minutes, discard the garlic, and gently squeeze out the excess liquid from the spinach.
In a medium bowl, toss the spinach with the fontina, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Set 3 of the pita halves on a work space and top each with 2 slices of the prosciutto. Top each evenly with the spinach mixture and set the remaining 3 pita halves on top.
Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel and heat the pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add one of the pita sandwiches and set another medium heavy skillet on top of the sandwich. Put 2 lb. of weights (cans work well) in the empty skillet to weigh it down and cook the sandwich until the bottom starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until it browns and the cheese starts to melt out the sides, about 2 minutes. (You could also use a grill pan like we did, or even a pannini press, fi you have one.) Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Cook the remaining sandwiches in the same manner. Cut the sandwiches in wedges and serve.
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