運命の出会い

Have you guys ever tried quince? Until recently, I had no idea what it tastes like. As soon as summer had packed it in, I kept on seeing trays on knobbly, vibrant yellow fruit at my local greengrocers. From a distance, they reminded me of fake fruit made of plaster, which my art teacher used to incorporate into still life scenes. On closer inspection, they seemed hard and a bit intimidating but I was drawn to their beautiful vibrant colour and most beautiful, perfumed smell. After several abandoned attempts to buy a few quinces, I finally plucked up the courage. My idea was to tame these beasts and make something really simple with them.

As all beautiful fresh fruit we used to have with our breakfast oats are no longer in season, we have switched over to porridge and I thought that quince should rival its distant cousin, apple, as a great porridge topping. As Duncan watched me struggle to peel and chop these hard, strange looking fruit, he was a bit sceptical about the amazing taste I promised. It wasn’t until about 2 hours later, when he appeared lured by the amazing smell, fork in hand, asking if he can taste some. He’s been in love with quince ever since. While prepping quince isn’t a breeze (you need a bit of elbow grease), stewed fruit will reward your effort by tasting delicious, filling your house with the most amazing of smells and turning the most appetising pink hue, like a plant chameleon.

Okay, guys. OMG FOOD has a new meaning: “Oh My Greek Food.” Cool? I’m into it.

Today, my friends, we are having spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese. I tried calling my mom to tell her I was posting this recipe , but she didn’t answer her phone. Typical mom. Ignoring her daughter’s phone call. THANKS A LOT, MOM. NO, REALLY. IT’S FINE. I’M NOT MAD. (Nah, it’s cool.)

Anyway, I’ll tell her the next time I do talk to her and she’s going to get so excited. Because she made this SO MUCH when I was growing up. I loved it then and I love it now. It’s one of those meals you can make without thinking about it much, you know? I mean, it involves three ingredients and the flavor is anything but boring Search Engine Optimization. The brown butter is the secret ingredient and the mizithra cheese packs a unique punch.

I’ve gone over this in my swiss chard and mushroom quinoa post, but if you don’t know what mizithra is (fun fact: sometimes it’s spelled myzithra), it’s a hard, dry cheese, similar to ricotta salata . It doesn’t melt so much, so your best bet is to finely grate it (I especially love my microplane for this; it’s one of my most favorite tools) and the tiny grated deliciousness will cling to your pasta.

You’ll notice I said three ingredients up there and salt wasn’t one of them. Mizithra is salty enough on its own to cover that and if you happen to use salted butter, you’re especially good to go (I use unsalted, myself). I gotchu.

If you want a baller Greek meal. Have this pasta as a side with some broiled lamb shoulder chops and for your healthy, green side, some maroulosalata? Totally going to push the Greek food on you as much as I possibly can. Because I love you.

Oats, almonds and flax sweetened with pure maple syrup and slowly roasted with dried blueberries provide a fresh and fun variety to your morning granola routine. Granola, in many ways, is incredibly easy to make. You basically throw everything into one big bowl, give it stir and slowly bake it. Easy right? The issue can be making it sweet and crunchy enough without using a ton of sugar and oil. No one wants their day to start off with a 500-800 calorie bowl of granola . If I'm going to splurge and  have an 800 calorie breakfast, there had better be waffles with butter and syrup involved!!! Most granolas are about 250 calories for a 1/2 cup serving and are full of sugar and fat and unpronounceable ingredients under the guise of being healthy...kinda misleading if you ask me.  My Blueberry Almond Flax Granola (could I have gotten any more words into the name?) is low fat, high fiber, lower sugar, incredibly wholesome and only 155 calories for 1/2 cup. Make a batch on Sunday and you'll be set for breakfast all week long. BONUS: Your entire house will smell freakin awesome. Seriously, the neighbors will come drooling.
I usually have several recipe ideas floating around in my head just waiting to come to life (am I the only one who goes to bed dreaming of blueberry granola...yes?....no?.... anyways) I decided on this one mainly because of how simple and low fuss it is. My Jaycie Jo (almost 6 year old...sniff) came home on Friday with 102F and some kind of cough/cold virus and is still in recovery mode. So in between coloring, Go-fish, Chutes and Ladders and snuggling up for way, way, way too many cartoons, I threw this together . Once in the oven, you basically leave it alone except for the occasional stir. SO EASY and if you find that you don't have..... say...dried blueberries...dried cranberries would be a great substitution or pecans for the almonds or honey for the maple syrup...see...anything goes here

What never fails to continuously impress me about France, is how even a mundane drive from one town to the next can turn into an enchanting journey of delightful discoveries.

Such was the drive to the bustling village of Loches.  The country road was flanked by horse farms and small french farming cottages that looked like they popped right out of a french storybook.  Then, the road darkened as the drive passed through a lush green forest called "Forêt Dominale de Loches".  There were several places to pull over and park the car.  Narrow trails stretched out as far as the eye could see and invited one to stop, bring along a picnic...and literally get rather lost in the woods for a bit.

Loches was the perfect size village for me to tackle the market easily and then escape back to my little country retreat afterwards.  Pulling right into historic center of the village, the market was bubbling right along and included everything from fresh flowers, ceramics, trendy clothing, and fresh fruits, cheese, veggies, and seafood from the Touraine region of the Loire Valley.

We sampled so much variety during our stay in this region of France.  This part of the Loire Valley is known for their assortment of chevre (goat's cheese).  Being one of my favorite cheeses, and the same goes for Riley, we never tired of sampling the local varieties alongside fresh cherries and melons and little forested wild strawberries no bigger than the tip of my pinky finger.

Market days are the very best ways to absorb country life in France.  People are serious about their shopping.  Hands are flying, samples are being tasted, as chatting is in full swing. People use these outings as a chance to stock up on food for a few days but also to greet and meet one another along with an opportunity to swap a fair amount of gossip.

These cook up in no time and honestly they may convert me to a tomato lover. Since the squishy stuff was gone what you’re left with is this tomato-y rich vessel stuffed with amazing hot and cheesy spinach filling.

The tomato definitely adds another level of flavor to the dish and seriously rocks it out! I’ve made these 2 more times since I took these pictures and the last time I put lump crab meat in the spinach mixture and oh dear God you wanna talk AMAZING?!?!  Holy crap it was awesome!

Like this is one of those dishes where it can easily be an appetizer as they are awesome hot or room temp or as a meal.  If you’re going for a meal I would go with a larger tomato – maybe beefsteak.  You could even top it with some buttered bread crumbs as well if you wanted a crispy crust on top.

So for those tomato-haters there is hope out there for you, for me.  This recipe is definitely one that can win you over and take you to the mater-side!