food – Page 5 – Mommy Hiker

[Food Series] Dutch Oven Dover Sole

Posted on April 18, 2014February 24, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

Last Christmas, my mom gave me the best present ever. A dutch oven! And since that fateful day, I’ve been dutifully trying to put it to good use. I’m a huge fan of braises and stews, especially seafood stews like ciopinno, so when my hubby came home with some fresh Denver Sole, I knew exactly what to do! I grabbed my dutch oven and started stewing! Enjoy!

Ingredients
3 fillets of fresh Denver Sole
1 medium Spanish Onion
1 cup Grape Tomatoes
2 Lemons
2 tablespoons fresh Rosemary
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Heat the olive oil in the dutch oven over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced onions to the pot and saute for 15 minutes on low heat with the lid on tight. Add the fish, grape tomatoes (halved), juice of 2 lemons, freshly chopped rosemary, salt and pepper and put the dutch oven lid on snugly. Stew for about 30 minutes. One pot! One incredibly easy, nutritious and delicious meal! We served it with rice and crispy kale! Enjoy!

[Food Series] Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies

Posted on April 4, 2014February 24, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

Sometimes our 3 year old’s sweet tooth starts screaming for a bite of something yummy and when it comes, she definitely let’s me know about it, in very clear terms. We don’t keep sweets in our house, no refined sugary substances here, so when the sweet beast reared its curly-tressed head recently, I went digging in the pantry to see what I could come up with! Dried cranberries and some fresh orange zest and we were in business! Enjoy!

1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup flour
1 cup Dried Cranberries
Zest of 1 Large Orange
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick of Butter (melted)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup half & half
1/4 cup water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, pulverize the oats, then mix in the other dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Slowly add to the processor all of your wet ingredients; orange zest, cranberries, olive oil, half and half, water, butter and brown sugar. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and scoop teaspoon-size dollops of cookie dough onto the tray, making sure to leave at least an inch and a half in between. These cookies spread! Bake for 15 minutes, then allow them to cool. Enjoy!

[Food Series] Wilted Kale, Mandarin and Walnuts

Posted on March 21, 2014February 24, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

My love affair with kale started a decade ago on a trip to a dusty, u-pick organic farm with a bunch of friends and I haven’t looked back since. As you can imagine, 10 years of going steady with a leafy green begs for reinvention, excitement and an injection of spontaneity! I absolutely love cooking compositions, meals made up in the spur of the moment, improvised from ingredients that are staring you in the face saying, “Pick me! Pick me!” And that is how this nutritious and mouth-watering dish came to be.

I love it mostly because of its versatility and simplicity. It’s a light lunch, a side dish or, toss in some protein and a handful of steamed lentils and it’s a hearty, well-rounded family dinner.

Ingredients

2 bunches of Organic Kale

2 small Mandarins

¼ cup Raw Organic Walnuts

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon of Water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Begin by cleaning and destemming the kale leaves. Peel the mandarin, separate it into sections and thinly slice each section. Roughly chop the walnuts into bite-sized pieces. In a frying pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat, then add the kale to the pan. Into the kale add a dash of salt and pepper and sauté for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add a splash of water, quickly place a tight-fitting lid on the pan and allow the kale to simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the stove’s burner and add in the mandarins and walnuts and toss to warm the added ingredients. Serve this up piping hot and enjoy!