[Food Series] Hearty & Healthy Potato Leek Soup

Posted on by Jennifer Fontaine

In the hopes of coaxing Madame Fall over to The City of Angles, yesterday I decided to honor her by making a pot of Potato Leek soup! You see, here in the San Fernando Valley, we have been smack dab in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees pretty much every day for the last two weeks! So, when I didn’t wake up this morning sweating (temperatures hovered around the mid 80s), I said to myself, “Yay! Fall is HERE!” Um… Ok. Not really. Yet! But, I’m hopeful she will be here soon! Enjoy!

Mommy Hiker Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients
2 Lbs of Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 medium Shallot
3 Green Onions
2 large Leeks
2 cloves of Garlic
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
3 tablespoons of Ground Mustard
3 tablespoons chopped Fresh Thyme
3 Bay Leaves
1 Lemon
Salt & Pepper
Water

Let’s begin by preparing all of our various onion friends! Dice up the shallot, green onions and garlic. Making sure you have rinsed your leeks well to remove any sandy residue, slice them 1/2 an inch thick. Pour your 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a deep pot and add your shallots and green onions. Allow them to cook on medium-low heat for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for another minute, then add the leeks and bay leaves. I like to ensure a good caramelization on this base to add a nice depth of flavor, so I let this simmer, covered on low heat for another 10 minutes or so, then add your potatoes, salt, pepper, fresh thyme & ground mustard. Finally, add water to about 3 inches above the potatoes. Cover your pot with a tight-closing lid and let it simmer on medium heat for about 40 minutes. Ladle into a bowl and Enjoy!

By Jennifer Fontaine

[Food Series] Mediterranean-Style Halibut Stew

Posted on by Jennifer Fontaine

So last week, I was in the kitchen cooking dinner as I do pretty much every night. I’m not a menu-maker when it comes to food at our house, I’m more of a meal composer. I look in the fridge about 4:30 pm and start feeling what tickles my fancy and make it up from there, deciding whether or not I feel like protein, what flavors I want to mix with which veggies, etc. That was the birth of this recipe. We loved it so much, it was so easy, nutritious and delicious that I just had to share it with you guys! Enjoy!

halibut fish stew

Ingredients
3 pounds of fresh Halibut
1 Spanish Onion
6 cloves of Garlic
1/2 of a large Heirloom Tomato
1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh Thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons ground Mustard
2 Bay Leaves
1/4 cup of Olive Oil
2 tablespoons of Butter (optional)

Cut your Halibut into 2 inch cubes, thinly slice your onion and tomato, give your garlic cloves and fresh thyme a rough chop, then literally throw everything into a deep pot on medium heat, including the juice of the lemon. (Cut the lemon in half, juice it into the pot, then quarter each half of the lemon and throw it all in!) Let it simmer on medium, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, then lower heat and let it cook for another 25 minutes to let all of the flavors come together. I served it over brown basmati rice, but it would be delish over pasta or just by itself! Enjoy!!

On a completely different subject, please check out this cool featurette we were interviewed for in which we discuss how we navigated the rough seas of our fertility challenges –> Read Article Here

By Jennifer Fontaine

[Food Series] Turkish Style Stuffed Eggplant (Karnıyarık)

Posted on by Jennifer Fontaine

Karnıyarık (Stuffed Eggplant) was one of the first Turkish dishes I mastered (after Cacık), mainly because it is one of my husband’s favorite foods. As I’ve mentioned before, I never really ate eggplant before I met my hubby, but this dish will have you begging for more! There are a few more steps than most of my recipes, but trust me when I say it’s WORTH it! Enjoy!

stuffed eggplant - karnıyarık
Ingredients
6 small Japanese Eggplants
1 pound of Ground Beef
4 Green Onions
1 medium size Tomato
2 cloves of Garlic
1/2 cup fresh Parsley
2 tablespoons Turkish/Mediterranean Tomato Paste
1 cup of water
2 cups of Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
To prepare your eggplant, cut off the top right at the base of its cap, cut off a sliver at the very bottom, then peel the skin off in quarters, length-wise, leaving four strips of skin all the way around. Submerge eggplant in very salty water and let them sit for at least 10 minutes. While the eggplants are soaking, chop your green onions, garlic, parsley and half of the tomato (reserve the other half of the tomato. you’ll use that later.) In a pan, saute the onions for a minute, then add the garlic for a minute. Add the ground beef to the pan and brown, making sure to break up the beef into fairly small pieces. Add the chopped tomato and parsley and saute for another 5 minutes. Don’t saute on too high of a heat. You want the ground beef mixture to be juicy, not dry. In a deep pot pour your 2 cups of olive oil and let it get hot. Meanwhile, remove your eggplant from the salt bath and pat dry with a paper towel. When the oil is hot (check by dipping the end of the eggplant in the oil. If it bubbles up vigorously, it’s ready.), gently place eggplant into oil. Rotate eggplant a quarter turn every 3 minutes. When they are done, place them in a baking dish. Choose a place on each eggplant, between strips of skin and make a cut down the middle, making sure not to cut all the way through end to end. Leave about half an inch on each end. Split each eggplant open, like you would a baked potato and fill with the ground beef mixture. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Thinly slice the remain half of tomato and place a slice on top of each stuffed eggplant. Mix 2 tablespoons of tomato paste in 1 cup of water (and pour in any remaining juice you may have in the pan from the ground beef mixture) and slowly pour over each eggplant, then pours the rest into the baking dish. Place baking dish into the oven for 25 minutes. Serve with rice and plain yogurt!
By Jennifer Fontaine