Pasta al pesto (and another gift)

Yep, I’m a lucky blogger. You guys have spoiled me so much!I have received many gifts from different parts of the world and that is so amazing.The beautiful place mat you see on the photo is a present from a very dear Brazilian friend, Luna – thank you for making my table more beautiful, sweetie!Some people are so versatile. Take Mark Ruffalo, (one of my favorites) for instance: he can be cute,

Best-Ever Mushroom Sauce

I've been making this best-ever mushroom sauce for years now and I'd never get sick of it even if I had to eat it everyday. It's a absolutely delicious dressing to put on mashed potatoes, lightly-steamed vegetables, or any grain, just as long as you can stop yourself from eating it right out of the pan, but my favorite way to eat it is as a topping for quinoa-oat croquettes.

Best-Ever Mushroom Sauce

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on November 7, 2007 As advertised, this is the best ever mushroom sauce — creamy, tangy and loaded with plump cooked mushrooms, this is a great sauce for mashed potatoes, vegetables or grains Print this recipe Ingredients: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 medium onions, chopped 1 pound white mushrooms, or with some creminis, sliced 1 cup plain yogurt juice of 2 lemons 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour (optional) fresh ground black pepper to taste Instructions: Melt the butter in a large saucepan or wok over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 8 minutes or until they are soft and translucent. Stir in the mushrooms, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are reduced but still slightly plump. Remove the lid and stir in the yogurt, lemon juice, parsley, mustard and salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the sauce without boiling, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes — or longer if you want a thicker sauce. If you want to speed up the process, stir in a tablespoon of unbleached all-purpose flour a few minutes after adding the yogurt and other ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Before serving, add fresh ground black pepper to taste and stir. Makes 3 cups

Rosemary Parmesan Drop Biscuits

Visitors to Lisa's Kitchen will know that I am a great fan of quick and easy savory biscuits. Not only do they fill out a meal, they are a tasty treat in their own right. Though I have no shortage of biscuit recipes on hand, I can never resist new ideas. I found this recipe in the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated.

Rosemary Parmesan Drop Biscuits

2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of sugar
3/4 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon of fresh rosemary
1 cup of cold buttermilk
8 tablespoons of melted butter, cooled for about 5 minutes

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, Parmesan and rosemary. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk and slightly cooled melted butter, stirring until butter forms small clumps.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just incorporated and butter pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Using a greased 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop a level amount of batter and drop onto greased or parchment paper lined baking sheets. Leave 1 1/2 inches between batter.

Bake until crisp and golden, about 12 - 14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Make 8 - 10 biscuits.

Creamy Beet Borscht

Borscht is a vegetable soup from Eastern Europe that is now enjoyed throughout the world. Any variety of vegetables can be used, but beets are essential. My friend Mike has been requesting a homemade borscht soup for a long time now. It was an especially good time to fulfill his wish, as beets are currently in season, and also one of my current favorites. I've come across a few recipes that I liked but this Creamy Beet Borscht, modified from James McNair's Soups, seemed to have the perfect balance of flavours. It turned out to be a success. I served it hot, but it can also be chilled and served cold if desired.

For best results, make the soup the day before and add bits of chopped mushrooms to the pot just before reheating it at a low temperature.

Creamy Beet Borscht

2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter
1 cup of chopped onion
2 small cloves of garlic, minced
3 - 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 pounds of beets (about 6 medium-sized), peeled and chopped
2 cups of seeded tomatoes, chopped
1 small turnip, chopped
1 cup of potato, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 bay leaves
juice from one lemon
6 - 7 cups of vegetable stock
sea salt and black pepper to taste

1/3 cup of minced fresh dill
1/2 - 3/4 cups of sour cream
fresh dill for garnishing

In a large soup pot, heat the oil or butter over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion and saute until soft - about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and vinegar and cook until most of the vinegar evaporates, about 3 minutes. Add the chopped vegetables, bay leaves, stock, salt and pepper, and half of the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to low and cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender - about 30 - 40 minutes. Add the remaining lemon juice.

While the soup is cooking, combine the minced dill and cream in a small bowl; set aside.

Once the soup has cooled down a bit, process in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and gently heat over low heat. Test for seasonings. Serve in bowls, with a dollop of the sour cream dill mixture and garnish with a bit of minced dill.

This is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging to be hosted by The Expatriate's Kitchen.

Punjabi-Style Scrambled Eggs

There are countless ways of preparing fried or scrambled breakfast eggs in India, but one thing they almost all have in common is cooking the eggs well until they are almost hard. These eggs, scrambled with a Punjabi-style infusion of ginger, hot pepper and Indian spice flavours, go deliciously with buttered toast and fruit for a fast and tasty breakfast. They also make for a delightful dinner.

Punjabi-style scrambled eggs

2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large onion, chopped
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
2 large jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
8 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala

Heat the oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. When hot, toss in the cumin seeds, let them sizzle for a few seconds, then stir in the onions and fry for a few minutes until they start to turn brown at the edges. Add the ginger, stir once, then stir in the tomato and jalapeños.

With a fork, lightly beat the eggs together with the cayenne, turmeric, salt and garam masala. Pour in the pan and stir the eggs, spices and vegetables gently with a wooden spoon for 10-15 minutes, depending on the intensity of the heat, until the eggs have been cooked into firm and fairly dry curds.

Serve hot right out of the pan. Serves 2-4.

Chocolate coated cookies. And a gift

I have met so many wonderful people through blogging that if I start listing them it will take me days!

One of these friends I’ve made is a talented and gifted young lady, who happens to be not only a great cook but also an artist – Hannah, of the beautiful BitterSweet.

We always write to each other and I’m really glad we’ve met.

The lovely duckling is a gift she sent me by mail – isn’t it

Polenta with Mushroom Ragout

Two of my favorite foods are cornmeal and mushrooms, so when I came across a recipe combining the two, I of course couldn't resist making it. The mushroom ragout, which is essentially a thick sauce or gravy, would also go nicely with rice or any other grain of your choosing, including pasta.

Polenta with Mushroom Ragout

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 pounds of mushrooms, quartered
1 onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon each of sea salt and pepper
1/2 cup of white wine or 1/4 cup of vermouth combined with 1/4 cup of water
1 - 2 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of vegetable stock or water
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley

For the Polenta:

3 cups of milk
1 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup of cornmeal
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

In a wok or large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, saute the mushrooms, onion, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper until all of the liquid is evaporated - about 8 - 10 minutes.

Next, add the wine or vermouth and cook, stirring, until evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Add the flour, stirring to coat the mushrooms and then add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley before serving.

To make the polenta, bring the milk, water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Whisk in the cornmeal and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring, until thickened - about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.

Spoon the ragout over the polenta and serve.