Crispy gnocchi

Pan seared homemade potato gnocchi with a sprinkle of sage.

What do you do with tons of leftover gnocchi dough? You make breakfast gnocchi.

A nod to Vanessa and her suggestion that I make gnocchi with a runny egg for breakfast. 

I used some of the leftover potato gnocchi dough and rolled out enough for one serving. They went into a pan with some olive oil and butter.

One poached egg went on top.

Did it turn out well?

Yes, oh yes, it did turn out very well:-)
 

While I was out

While I was walking the dogs last night I happened upon a bunch of neighbors that were hanging out on their patios, watering their plants and just doing the social thing.

A friend invited the dogs and I in for a visit. 

While we were visiting another neighbor stopped by and I mentioned that I was in awe of the garden he had planted out back.

He left and came back a few minutes later with this:

A beautifully ripe, homegrown acorn squash.

And this is what I did with it.

I cut in half length-wise, scooped out the seeds and rubbed it with butter.

The two halves went into a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. I did pour a bit of water into the sheet pan just to make sure the squash didn't dry out.

While the squash was in the oven I set 1/3 of a cup of white rice in a soup pot with 2/3 of a cup of water to simmer.

When the rice was done I took it off the heat and set it aside.

An hour later the squash was tender and I scooped out one half and set it in a skillet with some olive oil.


Here is a look at the done dish to keep you occupied while I continue:

I added the cooked rice to the skillet and added in a cup of chicken broth, a pinch of sage, a generous dose of cracked black pepper, 1/2 cup of white wine and 3 Tbsp. of grated Parmesan.

I let this cook (adding more chicken stock if the mixture looked dry) until it was somewhere between a congee and a risotto.

 Oh, wow, was this comforting, savory and delicious!

In a 'I want to scrape every little bit off my spoon and lick the bowl' kind of way.

Homegrown acorn squash - I highly recommend!

Oatmeal risotto with peaches. Parmesan and sage

Yes, I know it shouldn't be called a risotto if it isn't made with rice.  But after you eat a bowl of this you won't mind a bit.

This dish turned out stunning. It had the perfect creamy texture of a classic risotto. And the combination of the nutty bite of the Parmesan along with sweet, caramelized peaches and the savory kick of the crispy sage? Wow!

The recipe started with one peach and some sage leaves.

I put 1/4 cup of steel cut oats in a sauce pan with 2 cups of water, a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper and set it to simmer.

Then I melted a pat of butter in a skillet over medium low heat and added the chopped sage.

Cook the sage until it becomes very fragrant and begins to crisp (about 5 minutes). Add in the chopped peaches and let them cook until they begin to caramelize.

I was looking for more a grilled peaches taste in this dish - if I tossed them in with the oatmeal right away it would of been more of a peach soup.

The peaches nicely caramelized with crispy bits of sage.

I stirred in 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan into the oatmeal (I kept a little back to sprinkle on top at the end).

When the oatmeal is almost done (25 - 30 minutes), I added in the peaches and sage.  I let it cook for another 7 minutes until all of the flavors had a chance to combine.

Oatmeal Risotto

Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 cups of water
1/4 cup of steel cut oats
1 peach, pitted and chopped
4 sage leaves, chopped
1 pat of butter
1 pinch of salt
ground black pepper to taste

Instructions: 

Place the water, oats, pinch of salt and black pepper into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.

Pit and chop one peach and finely chop 4 sage leaves.

Set a skillet on med-low heat and add in the pat of butter. When the butter has melted, add in the sage and allow to cook until fragrant and crisp.


Then add in the peaches and continue to cook until the peaches are slightly brown on both sides. When the peaches have caramelized take them off the heat and set aside.


When the oats have cooked for 20 minutes, add in most of the Parmesan and stir to combine.


When the oats have finished cooking (25 - 3- minutes) stir in the peaches and sage. If they oats begin to look dry add in a bit more water. You want a creamy consistency to the oats.


Cook another 7 minutes or so then take it off the heat. Ladle the oatmeal risotto into a serving bowl and top with the rest of the Parmesan.


Enjoy!

At first I was like...Then I was like...

This morning:

At first I was like...I want apple and plum quinoa!

This is what I had on hand:

What is missing in that picture? The plum!! Then it turned into cinnamon and apple quinoa.

The apples were already chopped and simmering away in 1 cup of water with 1/4 cup of brown sugar when I realized what I really wanted -

And then I was like...I want onion and apple quinoa!

I pulled the apples off the stove when I had this epiphany.

I drained them and set them aside while I chopped up the onion.

Cook 1/2 cup of quinoa according the the package directions (basically it is a 2:1 ratio - 1cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water).

I love how pretty quinoa looks - cooked or uncooked.

The onions went into a pan coated with olive oil spray. I cooked them on low heat for 15 min - but you probably want to cook them for 20 so they are really soft.

Then add in the chopped apples and at this point I added a pinch of sage. Cook for another 5 - 10 minutes depending on how soft you want the apples.


Plate the dish starting with the quinoa.

Then ladle on the onions and apples.

This turned out incredible! I left the apples a tiny bit crunchy and the burst of sweetness with the savory (but slightly sweet) taste of the onions and the tiny bit of sage? Delicious :-)

A dollop of greek yogurt or sour cream would be great on top.

Oh, and the drink.

Strong coffee with soy milk.

I am going to prep my laptop for blogging while I am away this weekend. 

Wish me luck in doing a wipe and reinstall of Windows 7 - Yikes!