Tag Archives: thyme

Thyme and Garlic BLT with Added Turkey

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What makes this BLT special

Thyme Garlic BLTSometimes, life’s tastiest moments are just hidden between two pieces of bread. This special BLT was taught to me by a friend over a cup of coffee. What makes it so unique is how she flavors her mayonnaise with thyme and garlic. Making the sandwich makes your kitchen smell inviting. Biting into one makes you feel that spring has finally arrived.

To make a meal, try pairing this sandwich with my Bruschetta with Heirloom Tomatoes (without the bruschetta) or Hurry Curry Carrot Soup.

Thyme and Garlic BLT with Added Turkey
 
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A BLT made special by adding thyme and garlic.
Author:
Recipe type: Sandwich
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • ½ Tbsp thyme
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • ⅛ tsp pepper
  • 4 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
  • 8 slices whole wheat sandwich bread
  • 1.5 oz (40 g) bacon, 4 slices, oven baked
  • 4 oz (120 g) turkey breast slices
  • 1 large tomato, about 8 oz (240 g), cut across into 4 thick slices
  • 4 oz (120 g) romaine lettuce, one leaf per sandwich, cut each leaf into 2 halves

Instructions
  1. Set toaster oven at 450ºF (230ºC).
  2. Crisp bacon until most of the grease has melted off. 15 to 20 min. Break each slice into two halves.
  3. While the bacon is being cooked, Flavor mayonnaise by adding garlic, thyme, pepper, lemon juice. Set aside.
  4. Toast sandwich bread.
  5. As the bacon is cooked, place them between paper towels to absorb the extra grease for 5 minutes.
  6. In the meantime, spread flavored mayonnaise onto one side of the bread
  7. To assemble one sandwich, add two halves of bacon, then 1 oz turkey, 2 halves of lettuce leaves and one slice of tomato. Then the second slice of sandwich bread, mayonnaise-side facing down.

Nutrition Information
Calories: 298 Fat: 12g Carbohydrates: 31.9g Sugar: 5.7g Sodium: 940mg Fiber: 5.2g Protein: 15.6g Cholesterol: 28mg

Things you may want to know about this recipe

  • To save time – flavor the mayonnaise ahead of time and refrigerate.
  • This sandwich is high in iron, selenium, vitamins B6 and B12; it may also be relatively high in sodium.
  • For calorie watchers, you can instantly drop the calories to about 217 by making an open-face sandwich with one slice of bread instead.
  • Of course, if you do not like pork, or are trying to cut your fat intake, you will like turkey bacon instead.
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Ratatouille in a hurry – How you can make something out of eggplants quickly

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The challenge of cooking eggplant

It’s clearly harvest time when the farmers’ markets fill up with an abundance of vegetables. Among them, it’s time for the deeply purple eggplant to take center stage.

I don’t know about you, but I find cooking eggplant to be very challenging. Nevertheless, it is such a low-calorie vegetable that it would be a big loss not to enjoy it. The main problem of cooking eggplant is to figure out how to keep it chewy or incorporate its soft texture into a dish.

After researching this problem with cookbooks, as well as tasting several eggplant dishes around town, I have finally learned a few tricks to handle eggplant properly.

Therefore, in this and the next posting I’d like to feature two completely different ways to prepare eggplant to showcase its different characters.

Recipe

This recipe serves 6

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, roughly cut
  • 1 medium Japanese eggplant, roughly cut
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 medium zucchini, roughly cut
  • 1 orange bell pepper, seeds removed, roughly cut
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) sage-thyme-cilantro pesto, (or combine 2 teaspoon/ 10 ml each of dried sage and dried thyme)
  • 7 (200 gm) ounce baby corn, half can
  • ½ cup (120 ml) pinot grigio
  • 1 can 14.5oz (411 gm) diced tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoon (15 ml) red wine vinegar
  • Salt to taste
  • 6 oz (180 gm) black pitted olives
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) capers
  • Fresh parsley to garnish

In a soup pot, heat olive oil. Add the rough-cut onion, and saute 1 to 2 minutes. Then add eggplant, garlic, zucchini, bell pepper, baby corn and saute about 1 minute. Then add sage-thyme-cilantro pesto, pinot grigio and diced tomatoes. Cover and let stew for 30 minutes. Check liquid level at about 15 minute mark. If too much liquid is forming, uncover the pot to cook off some of the liquid. At the end of cooking, turn off heat, add vinegar, and salt to taste. Toss in black olives. At the time of serving, add capers and parsley to garnish.

Ratatouille is a very versatile dish. Once made, it can be refrigerated for about 4 days. The flavor intensifies with time. You can enjoy it with a baguette or some crackers.  You can also toss it with some cooked pasta to make a vegetarian pasta dish.  Try it with my Super Fast Spinach Pine Nut Fusilli Pasta.

Never had I known that eggplants can be this easy, and it’s good for you. Now that I got your attention on this figure-friendly vegetable, print some coupon now and go shopping!

Things you may want to know about this recipe

  • This is one of the two ways of making ratatouille. The other method requires cooking the vegetables separately and layering them out in a casserole dish to bake. I prefer this method as I am usually in a hurry.
  • I prefer to undercook my ratatouille a little bit since I like to see more of the color and taste the texture of the vegetables at the end. If you like the traditional taste, cook for another 10 to 15 minutes longer.
  • Adding baby corn is my unique style as I prefer to have some crunch among the soft vegetables.
  • Eggplant is low in calories but high in nutrients. Each cup of cooked eggplant contains only 33 calories but rich in vitamins A, C, E, B6, micronutrients and fiber.
  • Avoid frying or deep-frying eggplant because it can act like a sponge soaking up the oil it is cooked in.

Reference

Nutrient data for 11783, Eggplant, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt (3/30/2012). Retrieved September 14, 2012 from USDA, National Agricultural Library Web site: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3465

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Sage-Thyme-Cilantro Pesto – A make-ahead pesto that replaces butter for busy people

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Herbs are healthy additions to many recipes. I like to use fresh herbs in my cooking as much as possible. The quality of their flavor is simply unmatched. However, storing fresh herbs can be a problem. Have you ever frowned at forgotten herbs sitting in your refrigerator wilting away? Even you have a herb-box growing in your garden, preparing them every time you cook, like chopping and removing the stems, can slow you down. Therefore, I created this pesto to use at a moment’s notice. It is a super time-saver for busy people that will add distinct character to their food.

Traditionally, a pesto is made up of basil, garlic, pine nuts crushed together in olive oil. Then you season it with salt and pepper. I have used this technique to create this customized version.

This recipe makes about 1 cup

  • ½ cup fresh thyme, leaves only
  • ¾ oz (21 gm) cilantro, roughly torn, stems and leaves, usually one small package
  • ¾ oz (21 gm) sage, roughly torn, stems and leaves, usually one small package
  • ½ bulb shallot
  • ½ cup pine nuts, toasted
  • Juice of one lime
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to season

Pulse thyme, cilantro, sage, shallot, pine nuts and lime juice in a food processor.  For this job, I turn to my Cuisinart food processor. Drizzle olive oil from the top and continue to pulse until a paste is formed. Add salt and pepper to season. Transfer the mixture into a container with a lid. Cover the herb mixture with a layer of olive oil.

You can make this pesto at anytime and refrigerate it for recipes that need a quick herb fix. This pesto is a time-saver for busy people like me. Once made, quickly refrigerate and use within 3 to 4 days. If you need to use it much later, turn it into ice-cubes and store them in a freezer bag.

To use, this pesto pairs up with bread and fish very well. Mix a spoonful of it with more olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a bread dip. Also try it with a fish recipe. Since the pesto contains olive oil, I deduct the amount of oil in the actual recipes also.

See also Tilapia en Papillote

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Thyme Blossom Breakfast Casserole: A Mother’s Day Brunch Made Just in Thyme

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My thyme is blossoming in my herb garden, just in time for creating a dish to celebrate Mother’s Day. Therefore, I designed this easy-to-make, easy-to-travel dish for Mother’s Day brunch, perfect for celebrating the day either in your house or your mom’s.

  • 3 branches of fresh thyme, leaves only
  • ½ branch of fresh rosemary, leaves only
  • Salt and pepper
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1 pound mild (unless your mama likes it hot) Italian pork sausage, cooked
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 6 slices of day-old bread crust, somewhat soft (I prefer whole-grain)
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated or cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup of day-old bread, soft parts only, torn
  • 5 to 6 branches of fresh thyme blossoms, flowers only

Combine thyme and rosemary and chop roughly. Transfer the chopped herb into a mortar. Add ½ teaspoonful each of salt and pepper and grind the herb and spices until fragrant. In a bowl, beat the eggs. Then add the half and half and ground herbs. Add another ½ teaspoonful salt and pepper to the final egg batter and set aside. Next, cook pork sausage and set aside.

Butter the inside of a 13×10-inch baking pan. To the bottom of the pan, lay down slices of day-old bread. You may need to re-size and arrange the bread to fill the gaps. Layer on cooked sausage. Add cheese. Cover the sausage and cheese completely with the egg batter. Then place torn bread between the sausage and cheese. Cover the pan and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the casserole for 25 to 30 minutes or until you see a golden crust on top. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center of the dish and remove. If you do not see uncooked egg, the dish is done.

As the dish is resting, sprinkle the thyme blossoms on top and let the residual heat release the aroma of the blossoms. The resulting dish promises to be a joy for the senses of sight, smell and taste.

This dish travels well. Therefore, if you need to travel to your mom on mother’s day, you can simply cover the dish, take it to her house and enjoy.

There you have it.

Have a great Mother’s Day!

~Lunch on

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