recipe

KNR, p. 279 “Pineapple Banana Smoothie”

It may be September, but it’s still summer and temperatures still reach the 90s in the southern half of the USA. Happily, the stores have plenty of pineapples and bananas in stock, and you can make a refreshing hot weather beverage that also doubles as a filling afternoon snack.

We promise that everyone who drank either version sipped and smiled. There might have been a few ‘ahhhh…’ sounds heard, along with requests for seconds.

 

Pineapple Banana Smoothie

Sheila and Charlie Kerrian
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cuisine American
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup water OR pineapple juice
  • 1/2 cup crushed ice
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple, cubed
  • 1 cup fresh banana, sliced
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • optional blueberries for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Place water (or pineapple juice) and crushed ice in blender.
  • Add the cubed pineapple, sliced banana, and a pinch of salt.
  • Cover and mix until blended and creamy, about a minute.
  • Pour into glass and top with the optional blueberries.

Notes

*Blueberry version:
Use a bigger blender.
Follow quantity suggestions mentioned above and place water, crushed ice, pineapple, banana, and sea salt in the blender.
 Add 1/2 cup blueberries.
 Cover and mix until blended and creamy, about a minute.


Serves one happy recipient.

P.S. Go ahead, envision a vacation to the Islands during the last gasp of summer weather and add vodka or rum. Sip away.

 

 

 

 

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KNR, p. 120 “Game Day Flatbread”

If there are no paragraph separations, double-click on the title and they will appear.  🙂

NFL season is over, baseball season is beginning, and hockey playoffs are under way. We need Game Day recipes!

This week we decided to serve a new twist on an old standby.  Game Day Flatbread. What’s flatbread? Basically, it’s a lot like the bread you see under the sauce on a pizza. Some of it tastes and looks like pita bread without the pocket. It’s firm enough to hold meats, doesn’t get soggy while it bakes, and keeps its texture when being eaten. People place a variety of cheeses and veggies on the flatbread and bake it in the oven. Picture heating up an open-face sandwich. Yes, it does look like pizza. Our Game Day Flatbread sandwich has no tomato sauce, and I’ve yet to see one in a pub or restaurant that does. But without the tomato sauce, the flavor mix and cooking time is different.

You can make the actual flatbread yourself, but why bother when you can buy various tasty versions – gluten-free or naan or herb seasoned or unleavened, etc  – right in the bread aisle of almost any grocery store. Tortillas won’t work. Find the kind that you would use to make a gyro. Or look for the brand that we get: Toufayan flatbread.

We plan to let our game day partiers make their own, mixing and matching the toppings they like best, but here is a tasty recipe for spinach & cheese flatbread, with a note for one with sausage. Sheila and I will prep the spinach, tomato, and sausage beforehand, so that all the guests have to do is put together their own creations.

We did a LOT of taste-testing for this one, basically because I could not decide which cheese and tomato combo I liked best. Yup. I’m stickin’ to that story. Sheila would back me up, but she’s busy trying another sausage one.  😉

Print
 

Game Day Flatbread

Charlie & Sheila Kerrian
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 1 7" round Toufayan flatbread
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon mayo
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary)
  • 4 grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Place flatbread on cookie sheet (or pizza pan).
  • Spread mayo on the flatbread.
  • Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix on top of mayo.
  • Stir fry fresh spinach in olive oil, sea salt, onion powder, and garlic powder until just wilted, about two minutes. Separate and spread evenly across the mayo-herb layer.
  • Evenly sprinkle 1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese on top of the spinach.
  • Evenly spread 1/4 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese as the next layer.
  • Evenly spread the tomato pieces next.
  • Evenly spread the remaining mozzarella cheese.
  • Evenly spread the remaining Parmesan cheese.
  • Evenly sprinkle the remaining dried Italian herb mix next.
  • Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly, crispy brown and cheese is melted.
  • Serve right away.

Notes

This recipe is for EACH flatbread sandwich.
Sausage Variation:
If you'd like to add sausage to the Game Day Flatbread, use 1/4 cup ground, chopped, cooked, mild Italian sausage. Add it before the tomato layer. Reduce the amount of Parmesan cheese and also adjust the salt in the spinach, because the added sausage may make this version too salty for some.

 

For other Game Day recipes, click on the links below:

Drumsticks  

Chili  

Hearty Soup

 

*Photo by Patti Phillips

 

 

 

 

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KNR, p. 35 “Kerrian’s Irish Soda Bread”

 


Our travels in Ireland led us to quite a few B&Bs and at each and every one, they served soda bread with breakfast. We liked the versions with raisins, so when we returned to the USA, Sheila baked and I taste-tested until we agreed on this recipe. Most people have it only on St. Patrick’s Day, when they pretend to be Irish, but we enjoy it all year round. No yeast required.

Irish Soda Bread

Sheila Kerrian
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Bread
Cuisine Irish
Servings 6

Equipment

  • 1 Standing mixer with paddle

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups + 1 Tablespoon bread flour
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 Tablespoon water

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, combine 4 cups flour, raisins, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes. 
  • In a stainless steel bowl, gently whisk the buttermilk and vegetable oil. Gradually add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients while mixing on low speed until the dough forms a ball, 30-40 seconds. Scrape the dough away from the paddle and turn the dough ball over. Mix on low speed for another 30 seconds.
  • Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knead vigorously until smooth, about 2 minutes. Form the dough into round loaf. Pinch a small handful of dough & gently twist, careful not to tear the dough from the loaf. Place dough, pinched side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water, then lightly brush the mixture over the top of the loaf. Score the loaf by cutting a 1/4’’ deep ‘X’ into the top.
  • Bake the loaf in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes. The bread is done if a hollow sound is heard when the bottom is tapped with your finger.
  • Allow the bread to cool to room temperature before slicing.

 

Serve with butter or honey. Makes a very nice toast. Enjoy!

*Photo by Patti Phillips

 

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