Greens and Beans Tartine

Bacon beans, garlic, and greens are combined in this delicious open-faced sandwich called a tartine.

Ingredients

Toast:

• 4 thick slices French bread

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Greens:

• 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• zest from 1 lemon

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• cayenne pepper to taste

Beans:

• 2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

• ¼ cup sliced green onions

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

• salt to taste

• 1 (12 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 tablespoons water, plus more as needed

Tartine:

• 1 lemon, juiced

• 6 ounces pepper Jack cheese, grated

• 1 red Fresno chile, thinly sliced

• ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Drizzle olive oil on both sides of the bread.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until light golden brown, about 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add Swiss chard and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer chard to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain and squeeze out as much excess water from the chard as possible using your hands. Roughly chop.

5. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-heat and add garlic. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add chard and stir to combine. Turn off heat, and season with lemon zest, salt, pepper, and cayenne; stir to combine. Remove from stove and set aside until needed.

6. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until well browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and remove bacon with a slotted spoon. Drain bacon slices on paper towels. Crumble once cool enough to handle.

7. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

8. Remove all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the skillet. Heat skillet over medium-high heat and add green onions. Cook onions for 1 minute. Stir in cumin, oregano, and salt. Add beans, and stir to combine. Add water, and bring to a simmer. Once beans are simmering, use a potato masher to mash beans as smooth as you want. Add more water of you like to achieve desired texture. Taste and adjust for salt.

9. Spread bean mixture evenly amongst the 4 pieces of toast. Top with chard, followed by crumbled bacon. Drizzle with lemon juice, and top with freshly grated pepper Jack cheese.

10. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese starts to brown and the tartines are heated through, about 12 minutes.

11. Serve topped with Fresno chile pepper slices and green onions.

Zucchini Roses

I have a confession to make. I’m a guy that watches British fashion vloggers. Well … my wife does, and I’m just there for the gardening bits. One of the vloggers she follows recently posted a video making Courgette Roses. (“Courgettes” are what Brits call zucchini and summer squash. They have some weird names for veggies. Aubergine? Really?) Anyway, I found a version of the recipe with the temperatures and measurements converted to US units. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (about 8 ounces)

• All-purpose flour, for rolling out dough

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• 1 small summer squash (about 6 ounces), cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced diagonally

• 1 small zucchini (about 6 ounces), cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced diagonally

• Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll the puff pastry out to a 12-inch square on a floured work surface.

2. Brush lightly with the olive oil and sprinkle evenly with the cheese, thyme and lemon zest.

3. Cut into 6 even strips.

4. Shingle alternating yellow and green slices of squash and zucchini along the length of each strip of dough making sure to leave half the dough strip uncovered and allowing the green and yellow skins to hang over one edge slightly.

5. Fold the uncovered dough over the squash and pinch together at the two ends.

6. Starting at one end, roll each strip into a spiral.

7. Lightly press the rolled tarts into a muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray.

8. Bake until the crusts are browned and crisp on the bottom, the top is dry and crisp and the squash is tender and browned on the edges, about 40 minutes.

9. Remove to a rack to cool slightly. Serve warm.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

These spring rolls are a refreshing change from the usual fried variety, and have become a family favorite. They are great as a cool summertime appetizer, and are delicious dipped in one or both of the sauces.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli

• 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)

• 8 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut in half

• 1 ⅓ tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 leaves lettuce, chopped

• 4 teaspoons fish sauce

• ¼ cup water

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons white sugar

• ½ teaspoon garlic chili sauce

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

Directions

• Step 1

  Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.

• Step 2

  Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

• Step 3

  In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.

• Step 4

  In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.

• Step 5

  Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

Christmas Orange Hot Chocolate

This is the perfect Christmas morning drink next to the fireplace with classic Christmas music playing.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk

• 1 (1 ounce) envelope instant hot cocoa mix (such as Swiss Miss®)

• ¼ cup orange juice

• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Heat milk in a saucepan over high heat; whisk hot cocoa mix into milk until completely dissolved. Continue whisking for 1 minute, reduce heat to medium, and gradually stir in orange juice. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top and stir. Pour hot chocolate into a mug.

Roasted Strawberries

Usually strawberries are more associated with Spring, but a post on Instagram by Green Valley Gable got me thinking about folks who grow ever-bearing strawberries that produce fruit throughout the summer. This recipe makes the perfect topping for yogurt or ice cream on hot summer days.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled

• 2 tablespoons white sugar, or more to taste

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

• Step 2

  Quarter large strawberries and halve smaller ones. Place strawberries in a 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle sugar on top and toss several times.

• Step 3

  Roast in the preheated oven, stirring once, until strawberries are soft and juices are thick and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.

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Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

These are an on-the-go oatmeal bar without the artificial ingredients of commercial bars. This is the base for the bars, a recipe easily modified to suit your own tastes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 cup milk

• 2 eggs

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch square pan.

• Step 2

  Combine oats, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Whisk milk, eggs, canola oil, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl. Stir egg mixture into oats mixture until well combined; set aside until flavors blend, about 20 minutes. Spread oats mixture into prepared square pan.

• Step 3

  Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden brown, about 30 minutes.