Recipe + Vintage Bowl : Mango Salsa

I live for fresh fruit and veggies (clearly that means I am living in the wrong state). I love going to the farmers market and smelling the ripe tomatoes or picking fresh herbs from the garden. There is nothing that tastes better to me than perfectly ripe produce. So in celebration of summer and the abundance of goodness available, I decided to make salsas. The first one I will put up is a mango salsa. Although I really like supporting local produce, mango is one of those treats that I have to indulge in. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 Ripe juicy mangos
2 small really juicy limes
1/2 cup of  cilantro chopped
1/2 a cucumber mostly peeled
1 fresh jalapeno (or 2)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt to taste


This is so simple, dice the mangos, cucumber and jalapenos. Chop the cilantro and mix all together, then add the lime juice and olive oil, and salt to taste. I would usually let it sit overnight to mix all the flavors together. Eat with as a topping on a salad, on top of grilled salmon, with lime and chili tortilla chips, or just grab a fork!

Happy Fresh Veg Season!

Alea

Recipe + Vintage Glasses : Micheladas

 My grandpa in Mexico, had a tradition of a 3:00 "coochie coochie" time, a time for a drink and some snacks and lots of jokes. In honor of my gramps, I made some micheladas. These are not up to par with the ones we had in Mexico, but they are wonderful and refreshing on a warm summer day!

Ingredients:
Corona
a few splashes of Maggie sauce
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 key limes
tobasco
sea salt rim

Use a lime to rim the glass, then dip it in salt, start with about 2 limes worth of juice, a few squirts of Maggie and Worcestershire then add tobasco to taste. Finally, top off with corona. Cheers to you Papa Bu!

Recipe + Vintage Apron: Tortellini Soup

It has been quite a cool, cloudy, dreary day, so I decided some red wine, a colorful vintage apron, and some warm soup would brighten my spirits. I love this tortellini soup recipe, it tastes rich, but has so many vegetables in it, that it is actually quite light. It also makes enough for a weekend of leftovers.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound sweet or spicy crumbled Italian turkey sausage (about three links with casings removed)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 cup shredded carrots
4 tomatoes, seeded, and chopped
2 zucchini, 1 yellow, 1 green
2 cups finely chopped spinach
1 10 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
6 cups beef broth
Handful fresh basil, chopped
Dried oregano to taste
Frozen cheese tortellini
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Crumble sausage into pot, cooking until it is no longer pink. Add garlic, stirring for about a minute. Stir in vegetables, cooking until crisp-tender. Add spinach and cook until wilted, then add wine, tomato sauce, beef broth, oregano, and basil, and bring pot to a boil. Turn the heat down and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Add desired amount of tortellini to each bowl, then pour hot soup over them, letting sit for about 3-5 minutes, or until tortellini is al dente. Garnish with more basil and parmesan cheese. It's great with a glass of the red wine you used in the soup!

-Heather

Recipe + Vintage Holiday : May Day Currant Shortbread

 May Day is by far my favorite holiday. There are so many great traditions, from the May pole to celebrating the colorful blooms and the demise of winter, but my favorite tradition is the May Day basket. I love the idea of giving an anonymous basket of goodies to unsuspecting friends. My first May Day basket was made with my grandma. We picked some spring blooms and made some cookies. I put it on the stoop of my best friend two doors down. This year, the lack of spring blossoms and greenery gave way to a very monochromatic bundle, right down to the tasty treats. This recipe is one I found on 101 cookbooks, my favorite foodie blog. Happy Spring!
- Alea

Ingredients
1 cup  unbleached all-purpose flour
Scant 1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 pound (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup  sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds
1/2 cup currants
Large grain sugar, for sprinkling


Combine the all-purpose and whole wheat flours in a medium bowl and set aside.

Then, beat the softened butter with the sugar and salt. Use and electric mixer or immersion blender. Once it is smooth, stir in the almonds and add the four until just combined. Finally add in the currants. Then, shape it into a round flat patty and cover with plastic. Place in refrigerator overnight or if you have less time, a few hours should do.

Take dough out and let stand for ten minutes. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Then roll out the dough about 1/4 inch thick and stamp out the shapes. If the dough gets warm, place it back in the refrigerator.  Space the cookies with room and put in the freezer for ten minutes.

 Bake for 13-15 minutes, checking often so they don't burn. You want them to be a golden brown. Then let them cool and enjoy!

Recipe + Vintage Doily: Chicken Pesto Quesadillas

Quesadillas are an easy meal to make anytime of the week. This recipe is a simple variation of an old standby, but I absolutely love it. I was able to find some local handmade tomato basil flatbread tortillas at Kowalski's (in the deli section) that really brought the flavor over the top.

Ingredients:
Four tortillas
Jar of pesto or homemade
Freshly shredded cheese (I used a mix of monterey jack and provolone)
Four roma tomatoes, sliced
1/2 pound boneless chicken breasts, diced
Two cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Splash of white wine
A few big handfuls of baby spinach or chopped spinach

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a pan, add chicken and cook until almost white, then add
minced garlic, splash of wine, and baby spinach, stirring until spinach is bright green, reduced in size, and chicken is cooked through.

Lay out the tortillas on cookie sheets or a pizza pan, spread a layer of pesto, sliced tomatoes, chicken/spinach mixture, and cheese on half of the tortilla, fold other half over and brush with olive oil. Bake in oven until crispy on edges and cheese is melted, about ten minutes.

-Twill

Recipe + Vintage Apron: Chili

This is my favorite chili, my mom makes it the best, and this is the first time I have tried making it myself. It makes a ton, meaning an almost overflowing crockpot, but I imagine it would freeze well or you can make it for a get-together and then eat it all week long like we did. Delicious with toppings like freshly grated cheddar, sour cream, and tortilla chips, and/or cornbread muffins.

Ingredients:

2T oil
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lb beef sirloin, cubed
2 cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 can dark beer
1 cup strong coffee
12 oz tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
1 T chipotle chili powder
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 T cocoa powder
1 t coriander
1 t salt
2 cans chili beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 poblano chilies, soaked in water overnight

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pan, add garlic, shallots, meat, and spices, and cook until meat is browned.
2. Seed and chop chilies, reserving soaking water.
3. Add all ingredients to slow cooker along with one cup soaking water and stir to combine.
4. Cook on high for 1 hour, then turn down to low and cook for about 6 hours. Delicious!

 

-Twill

Drink Recipe + Good Friends: Margaritas!

My darling Twill just arrived home! I am so excited to have my bestie back in town, oh how I missed her sweetness. So in honor of the lovely lady, I threw a little cocktail party at the pad. Margaritas are my favorite, and Heather asked for Strawberry ones, so I decided to learn to make a truly great version on the rocks (no fancy appliances needed here!).

Ingredients:
Classic Lime:
2oz Tequila (100% blue agave, silver)
1oz Triple Sec (Cointreau is recommended)
1 oz fresh lime juice
4 strawberries muddled 
Sugar and cinnamon for the rim
Ice

*for classic lime, use a salted rim with a little ancho pepper

Recipe + Vintage Teacup : Ginger Tea

A few years back, while living in Spain, a friend of mine made me this home-brewed bliss. Feeling a little in need of some warmth, I made some today. It is perfect for a cold, sore throat or just to cheer you up with a zing.
















Ingredients:
fresh ginger root
lemon
honey

Peel the ginger root and cut into large chunks.

















Place the chunks in hot water, let boil or simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Add lemon, turn water down.

When ready to serve, add honey. Yum!

-Ladybird

Recipe + Vintage Tablecloth: Beef and Butternut Tagine

I just received my new Cooking Light magazine in the mail, and thought I would give the recipe for Moroccan Beef and Butternut Tagine a shot. Alex and I are trying to make at least one new-to-us recipe a week, as we tend to gravitate to the familiar few. It is forcing us out of the box a little, and we are finding new recipes that we are definitely adding to our repertoire. He went for a long day skiing on the mountain Sunday, so I thought I would adapt it slightly and make it in our good old slow cooker, so it would be nice and hot whenever he got home. A tagine is an earthenware pot that is typically used for this dish, so I guess I did not make it in the traditional sense, but it was a delicious slow-cooked sweet and spicy stew anyway. I think cooking it even slower than the recipe suggests made the meat melt in your mouth tender, and I simply added the butternut squash at the end, so it didn't get mushy.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1-lb beef shoulder roast or petite tender roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes (I found this at the Whole Foods butcher already trimmed and cubed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 shallots or 1 onion, chopped (I only had one good sized shallot and it worked fine)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes undrained
3 cups (1 inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound) (I used frozen cubed butternut squash)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef, toss well to coat.
2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add beef and shallots, cook 4 minutes until browned, add garlic, cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil, cook 5 minutes. Add squash, cover, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes, sprinkle with cilantro.

Note: I skipped all of the second step and placed the herb coated beef into the slow cooker, added the shallots, garlic, tomatoes with juice, and broth, and cooked on low for 8 hours. I added the butternut squash for the last 30 minutes.

Serve with couscous. Delicious!

Recipe + Vintage Apron: Red Kale Tortilla Soup

This recipe was passed down from my father, an amazing cook who hails from Mexico. Even though I have been vegetarian for ten years, he still insists that it needs to be made with chicken and chicken stock. So for your meat eaters out there, feel free to follow his advice. I make this soup a lot in the winter, it is my family's version of chicken noodle soup. To me this is comfort food to the max, I had it when I had my wisdom teeth taken out, when I would get a cold as a kid, or just to warm up from the below freezing weather.

My take on my dad's tortilla soup! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
One carton of organic vegetable broth, low sodium
Baby Bella mushrooms about 20 chopped
Half a bunch of red kale
One bunch of celery chopped
Half a bunch of fresh cilantro chopped
3 cans of diced tomatoes (with basil or oregano is great too)
6 limes (fresh is a must, do not use lime juice from a can, yuck!)
Cumin to taste (about 2 tablespoons)
Olive oil
2 Bay Leaves
Garlic (1 or 2 cloves)
A little sea salt to taste

The Fixins'
Corn tortillas
Olive oil
Avocado

Saute the garlic and mushrooms in olive oil for about 8 minutes












then just add the rest of the chopped ingredients and bring to a boil

While the soup is cooking, cut your corn tortillas into strips, brush with olive oil and put on a baking pan. Let bake until crisp for about 12 minutes at 375.

Serve hot with tortilla crisps and avocado chunks.
-Ladybird

Recipe + Vintage Apron: Soft Molasses Men

Right around this time of year before she passed away, my grandma and I had the holiday tradition of making tea rings, sugar, and molasses cookies. This is her gingerbread recipe, it turns out quite cakey and soft and very molassesey. It is perfect with a smudge of vanilla frosting on top. I made them myself this year for the first time and even though they didn't turn out quite as delicious as hers, I was happy to keep the tradition rolling. I am really starting to appreciate old recipes passed along to me, especially when they are written in the loved ones own handwriting. What are your favorite holiday cooking traditions?

-Twill

Soft Molasses Rolled Cookies from the kitchen of Grandma Marlene

Makes 3 dozen cookies

You will need:

1 cup cooking oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp soda dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water
6 cups flour

Directions:

Beat ingredients through salt in a large bowl until well blended
Stir water and soda  into molasses mixture
Stir 6 cups sifted flour into mixture in 2 cup portions, blending well
Cover dough with wax paper and chill in refrigerator overnight
Flour flat surface and put about a 2 cup portion in the middle--roll out to 1/4 inch thickness
Dip cookie cutters into flour and cut cookies, placing them on a greased cookie sheet with spatula
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until cookie rises back when touched lightly.
Frost!

Vintage Holiday Apron from Etsy

Recipe + Vintage Apron: Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Happy Sunday! This recipe is a version of one that I made for a fall get-together. I ended up making a recipe up from scratch because most recipes I found called for meat or too heavy on the breadcrumbs or didn't have enough veggies for my liking. I need to get my daily quota of 15 servings ;) So I sort of took a little bit from here, and there and came up with this. I hope you enjoy. It is quite festive with red and green being predominant colors and delicious!
















Ingredients:
4 large portabella mushrooms or 12-15 small ones
2 small zucchini
1 red pepper
Parmesan cheese
Herbs de Provence
Olive oil
1 clove of garlic
*For an added kick use hot chili oil

First, chop the zucchini and red pepper. Then take out the stem of the mushroom cap. Chop finely.

Next, saute the garlic and the chopped zucchini, red pepper and stems of the mushrooms with the herbs de Provence. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Then, put the caps into a large baking pan with olive oil on the bottom. Add a little oil to the middle of each cap and stuff them with the sauteed vegetables.















Put them in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes.

Once the juices are coming out of the caps, top with parmesan cheese and put back in for another 5 minutes.

Take out and enjoy!















 I couldn't just pick one apron today! So here are my 5 fabulous and frilly choices.















- Ladybird