(Fully Loaded) Cachapas: Fresh Corn Pancakes Topped with Cheese for Tyler Florence Fridays

My recipe this week for Tyler Florence Fridays is Fresh Pancakes Topped with Cheese: Cachapas, from the Food Network site (here). Cachapas are from Venezuela and are considered "street food", are usually made with ground fresh corn and mixed into a thick batter. Tyler's version uses just fresh corn, masa harina (meaning "dough flour", the ground corn flour used to make tortillas), and salt. Although the recipe just calls for cheese to top the cachapas with, I decided to make them more substantial and more of an entree than a side dish, by topping them with all kinds of good stuff. (And local too! In addition to the corn all the veggies, fruits and the cilantro are locally grown).

Fresh Corn Pancakes Topped with Cheese: Cachapas
Food 911, Tyler Florence
(Makes 4 Corn Pancakes)

2 ears fresh corn
2 tablespoons masa harina
Pinch kosher salt
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 pound Venezuelan cheese, sliced (Queso blanco, mozzarella, or feta can be substituted)

Scrape corn kernels from the cobs; run the back of your knife along the cob to extract all the corn liquid. Put corn into a food processor and pulse a few times to break up the kernels. Add masa harina and salt and pulse to incorporate. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Divide the mixture into 4 and make 4 corn cakes. Cover and let the cakes cook for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan and carefully flip the cachapas over. Press on them with a spatula to flatten them a bit. Cook, covered, for another 5 minutes. Uncover and cook for about 5 more minutes; they should be a dark golden brown.


Top with the cheese and cover until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Note/Results: Really good! The cakes themselves are pretty mild, (in fact if you are not going to load them up with toppings, I would put some green chilies, green onions or spices in with the corn to liven them up). Also, I used Ewa sweet corn and the ears are smaller than standard corn so my proportions were a bit off and I got 2 cakes from 2 small ears of corn. I topped my cachapas with some spiced canned beans (I rinsed and drained pinto beans and kidney beans, put them in a pot to simmer with some vegetable broth, cumin and cayenne), cilantro, avocado, sweet little red and yellow peppers and some cotja cheese, (very similar in taste and texture to feta). Bright and colorful and served with a simple spinach and tomato salad with toasted pine nuts, it was a delicious, healthy meal. I would make these again. 

You can see what recipes our other TFF participants chose and what they thought of them at the TFF site here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

What I Am Craving Today and the Winner of Giveaway #1

Since yesterday's cupcakes were a lighter indulgence, today's indulgence is a bit more decadent. Since I bought them at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago, I have been craving these Dark Chocolate Strawberry Mochi. 

A huge ripe, strawberry, covered in dark chocolate and covered in mochi. If you are not familiar with mochi, it is basically glutinous rice pounded into a paste and molded into different shapes. 

This mochi dessert is a "daifuku" style, meaning it is a soft mochi ball that is stuffed with a filling. The very best ones are from Two ladies Kitchen in Hilo,on The Big Island, but these from the Saturday's Grandma Line at Made in Hawaii Foods are pretty darn good. You have to get to the booth early though--the plain strawberry and these with chocolate sell out early. 

I want more and at least I am getting fruit and the antioxidants from the dark chocolate!

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Now, on to the winner of Giveaway #1, one of my favorite cookbooks, 5 Spices, 50 Dishes. It was fun to see what 5 favorite spices you all picked and it made me realize it is impossible to settle on just 5. 

One of these days, I should  to learn how to do a random number generator, but there is something satisfying about writing each name on a slip of paper and drawing out one slip. 

And the winner of 5 Spices, 50 Dishes is (drum roll please...):

L.K. from Healthy. Delicious.!  Congratulations L.K.!  I know you will make good use of the great recipes in this book. Shoot me an email with your mailing address and I will get the book out to you. 

Disappointed you didn't win? There are still 2 giveaways to go so don't forget to check back Saturday for the details on Giveaway #2!

Lighter Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

I am not a huge cake fan, but offer me a good cupcake and I am happy. Whether is is the single serving size, the high frosting to cake ratio or just that they are so darn cute, I loves me some cupcakes. I was intrigued with a recipe from this month's Cooking Light, Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting, that lightens up the butter and fat and uses potato starch for a delicate crumb. The fact that they combine two of my favorite flavors didn't hurt either. 

Cooking Light and the recipe developer, Kathleen Kanen say: "Texture suffers when you lighten cakes by using less butter and sugar. Mild-flavored potato starch, available at most grocery stores, is a fine powder that ensures a moist, light result in baked goods. (Make sure you purchase potato starch, however, Kanen says potato flour is heavier and denser)."  

Kanen's further advice: "Employ the creaming method, a technique that starts by beating butter and sugar together to incorporate plenty of air in the batter. Eggs go in next, then the dry flour mixture is added alternatively with liquid to retain the beaten in air."

Cooking Lights also says: "Find potato starch in the supermarket baking aisle. Use lemon rind and fresh lemon juice in place of the lime for a variation." (Note: I looked in every baking aisle in town before finally finding little bags of potato starch in the Asian Foods section of a couple of stores.)

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

Cooking Light May 2009

(Makes 12)

Cupcakes:
Cooking spray
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons potato starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2/3 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
4.75 ounces powdered sugar, sifted (about 1 1/3 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cupcakes, place 2 muffin cup liners in each of 12 muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended (mixture will be the consistency of damp sand). Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to egg mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in coconut and vanilla.

Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in pan 2 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, combine 3 tablespoons butter and next 3 ingredients (through juice) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating just until smooth. Spread about 2 1/2 teaspoons frosting onto each cupcake.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 cupcake)

CALORIES 196 ; FAT 5.6g (sat 3.4g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.3g); CHOLESTEROL 31mg; CALCIUM 52mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.8g; SODIUM 179mg; PROTEIN 2.5g; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 0.7mg

Notes/Results: Yum! A nice, moist and tender cupcake and the frosting, oh my the frosting, I think I could eat a whole bowl of it! It would be great on cookies or a pound cake too. The nice thing is that you actually don't need to put a lot of frosting on the cupcake to get a good hit of the lime flavor. These are great little cupcakes and don't taste lower in fat. For portion control, I baked all 12 cupcakes and made half the frosting, freezing about half of the cupcakes for another time. I would definitely make these again for an occasional delicious indulgence.

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Don't forget, if you have not already entered for this week's giveaway, you have until noon (Hawaii Standard Time), today to do so. You can get all the details here. The winner will be announced tomorrow. 

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Creamy Mushroom-Tomato Sauce

I was lucky enough to be one of the bloggers and FoodBuzz Tastemakers who were sent a package of Buitoni's new line of Riserva Wild Mushroom Agnolotti from FoodBuzz. Agnolotti is similar to ravioli and is traditionally a 1" square shape, but they can also be smaller and rectangular or, as in this case, larger semicircles. Riserva Wild Mushroom Agnolotti is (according to the package), "a blend of earthy mushrooms, including sweet, rustic portobellos and delicate criminis, creates an impeccable pairing with fresh-roasted garlic and imported grana padano and parmesan cheeses, wrapped inside thin layers of stone-ground semolina pasta." Yep, just from the description alone, I was pretty sure I was going to like it. The challenge was to come up with a great sauce to top it with. 

I knew I wanted to work some mushrooms in, and of course some parmesan cheese and it needed some depth of flavor and a little acidity so I decided to add some white wine and sun-dried tomatoes. Finally I wanted something a little creamy and I have been experimenting with making creamy sauces using brown rice flour since making a cheese sauce that way. Putting it all together, I give you Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Creamy Mushroom-Tomato Sauce.

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Creamy Mushroom-Tomato Sauce

by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Serves 2)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, chopped

1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, chopped (I used crimini and oyster mushrooms) 
3/4 cup vegetable or mushroom broth
2 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), chopped finely

1 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped and separated

3 Tbsp parmesan cheese, grated and separated

2 Tbsp white wine
1 Tbsp brown rice flour 

1/2 cup non-fat milk
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 package (9 oz) Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti

In a large skillet, cook the shallot  in the olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes, stirring. Add the broth and boil the mixture until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 Tbsp of the basil, 2 Tbsp of the cheese and the wine, simmer for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile place the brown rice flour in a small bowl and whisk in the milk until smooth. Add it to the saucepan and continue to simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally for 15 to 20 minutes or until it is thickened and add salt and pepper to taste. (Yields about 2 cups of sauce).

While sauce is simmering, boil pasta according to package instructions and drain thoroughly. Place pasta on serving plate or serving bowl, top with sauce and garnish with the remaining parmesan and chopped basil.

Notes/Results: The sauce was creamy, good, and it complimented the pasta well. It was rich and decadent without any butter or cream, which I liked. The pasta cooked up nicely and has a great savory cheesy, mushroom taste. As good as it was with the sauce, I cooked up the remainder of the pasta the next day and this time topped it with a bit of olive oil, grated pecorino-romano cheese and black pepper and I liked it even better as more of the true taste of the pasta came out.


If the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti is an indication of the rest of the Riserva line (Chicken and Four Cheese Ravioli, Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti, and Braised Beef Sausage Ravioli), I would happily try the other flavors. It makes a nice quick to prepare, occasional indulgent meal and there is nothing wrong with that!

BTW--Don't forget to enter to win my giveaway this week of 5 Spices, 50 Dishes (you have until Wednesday). You can get all the details here.  

Mushroom and Cilantro Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

This week's soup is Mushroom and Cilantro Soup from Asian Soups by Suzy Smith. A thick creamy pureed soup of assorted mushrooms, cilantro and coconut milk, I was fully expecting to love this soup based on my fondness for the individual ingredients, but blended together for some reason it was just OK; fine but not great. I'm not sure what the issue was and the soup was by no means bad, it just wasn't a "WOW!" soup for me. When I evaluate a soup I make, I always ask myself if I would be happy if I ordered it in a restaurant and had to pay $7-$10 a bowl for it. This one just would not have made that cut. 

Mushroom and Cilantro Soup

Asian Soups by Suzy Smith

(Serves 4)

3 Tbsp light olive oil

1 yellow (brown) onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-inch (2.5 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

5 cilantro (coriander) roots, finely chopped

1 green chili pepper, finely chopped

3 Tbsp lime juice

3 cups (24 fl oz / 750 ml) vegetable stock

3 cups (24 fl oz / 750 ml) coconut milk

2 tsp fish sauce

1 lb (500 g) mixed button, enoki, shitake, cremini and oyster mushrooms, sliced if large

2 cups (2 oz / 60 g) cilantro (coriander) leaves

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro roots and chili pepper and cook, stirring, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add lime juice, stock, coconut milk and fish sauce and bring to a steady simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Reserve some mushroom slices for garnish. Add remaining mushrooms and mushroom juice to soup. Add cilantro leaves. Working in small batches, process soup in a food processor until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Return soup to saucepan and reheat over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately garnished with reserved mushrooms.

Notes/Results: I made this pretty close to the stated recipe, the only differences being a bit more garlic and ginger. I used a combination of all the mushrooms asked for and "lite" coconut milk to cut the fat and calories. Instead of putting it in a blender, I used my immersion blender to puree the soup. There are too many soups out there for me to make an "OK" one again, but if you are a fan of cilantro and mushrooms and you want to give it a go, I would recommend more lime and chili to liven it up a bit. I did find that serving it with lime wedges helped the flavor some. 

And now, on to our round-up for  Souper Sunday, now Souper (Soup, Salad and Sammies) Sunday. (See last week's round-up post for details if you missed the announcement). We have some new faces at Souper Sunday this week and it looks like we have some delicious soups and even a couple of sandwiches and salads to share--so let's get to it.

Kait from Pots and Plots was trying to use up the last of some freezer and pantry leftovers, so she threw some sausage, potatoes, and a bunch of other good things into her crock pot and came up with a delicious bowl of Tuscan Potato Soup. Although she thought the soup would be "decent", Kait was "amazed at how rich and flavorful it turned out", and she will definitely be making this soup again.

Also feeling Tuscany is Reeni from Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice, who took advantage of a cloudy, cold day to create a warming bowl of Creamy Tuscan Soup. Full of canellini beans, spinach and orzo, and herbs and with the required drizzle of olive oil on top. (Reeni has very strict rules about not omitting the olive oil--no soup for you!). She says this is a "luxurious and velvety soup".

Since her best friend Kassi recently became a vegetarian, and she is trying to get more vegetables and healthier food into her own diet, Kim from Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet came up with this Vegetarian Beet Soup. The bright color of the beets and the soup appeals to Kim's visual nature and she is on her way to acquiring a taste for beets, especially knowing all of the health benefits of these veggies. 

Making her first appearance at Souper Sundays is Cyndi at Cookin' with Cyndi, hailing from California. Cyndi used to host her own Thursday Soup or Stew Night on her blog, but then took a break from it and blogging. She is back and happy to have a place for her soups without having to do a round-up! ;-)  She made a healthy, "simple but delicious", Hot and Sour Soup adapted from Cooking Light. She says "it's not authentic but it's tasty!"

Another new face is Kristin at Whatcha Eatin'?, who joins us from New Brunswick, Canada. Kristin spent a few days reading her favorite blogs and trying the recipes that caught her eye, including two soups. The first, Donna's French Onion Soup, (from Donna at My Tasty Treasures). Kristin says it does take some time to make this soup, to get all the flavor out of those onions, but it is worth it!

Her second soup was Katy's Flemish Carrot Soup (from Katy at Food for a Hungry Soul). Kristin loved the taste and plans to take this thick, chowder-like soup for lunches this week and also has some plans for interesting adaptations. Welcome Kristin!

We also have Coleen from Coleen's Recipes and located in Southcentral Alaska, in the Souper Sunday kitchen for the first time this week. Coleen loves having a crock pot of soup on and ready to go on a busy weekend and has a special spot in her heart for her childhood favorite bean soup. She has tweaked and perfected her Crock Pot Bean Soup recipe over the years and found that adding beef broth really enhances the flavor. Good to have you Coleen!

Ulrike at Küchenlatein says that Germans love their white asparagus or "spargel" and since it is spargel season there right now, she took the opportunity to make this hearty, lemony  (White) Asparagus Cream Soup. Ulrike says her sons both loved the little meatballs she put in the soup more than the asparagus! (It does seem like a great way to get them to eat their vegetables).

Heather at girlichef is brilliant! She used her Foodbuzz trial package of Buitoni Riserva pasta to make soup! (Why didn't I think of that?) She found that her Garlic, Mushroom and Herb broth w/ Wild Mushroom Agnolotti was easy and delicious and not too heavy. Not only did she and her daughter enjoy the pasta in the savory broth, she liked it enough to eat the rest of the agnolotti right out of the strainer! 

Since we opened up Souper Sunday to include salads and sandwiches or "sammies", we were able to coax Joanne from Eats Well With Others to join us. (Joanne is not a soup lover but we won't hold it against her!). At school in Cambridge, MA, Joanne makes some of the yummiest sandwiches I have seen and this week is no exception with her Avocado and Barbecue Sauce Sandwich. A major runner, Joanne needs to keep her self well-fueled with healthy food and this sandwich fits the bill perfectly!

Practicing "guilt-free living" at it's best is Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. She branched out from her usual soups this week to make both a salad and a sandwich for a light, healthy meal. Her Mediterranean Broccoli and Whole Grain Noodle Salad is chock full of healthy veggies and whole-grain noodles.

Some leftover chicken was perfect in her gorgeous Grilled Chicken Panini, with pesto, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and on some hearty, whole-grain focaccia.

Natashya says they both are "so good you will forget how healthy" they really are!

A great turnout this week and it is fun to see not only the wonderful soups but some terrific sandwiches and salads too. Welcome to our new faces and mahalo to everyone who participated.

Have a great week! Don't forget you have until Wednesday to enter to win 5 Spices, 50 Dishes in my three-part "300th Post / 1-year Blogoversary Giveaway". You can get the details here.

Roasted Radish, Goat Cheese & Arugula Salad with Spiced Pecans and Giveaway #1

Not too long ago, I discovered a new appreciation for radishes after roasting them, thanks to a recipe in Fresh Every day by Sara Foster. Although I used them in a salad from another cookbook, I was intrigued by a note under the radish recipe: "Reinvention: At the Market, we toss roasted radishes into a salad with arugula and Spicy Pecans (recipe also in the book). If you want to do the same, roast the radishes in olive oil and vinegar instead of butter and use the pan drippings to dress the salad."

I decided to make the Spiced Pecans, roast some more radishes and make the salad, adding some crumbled goat cheese and some sweet little tomatoes with a simple vinaigrette. A perfect light and healthy salad for lunch or dinner. You can follow the above link to find the directions for roasting radishes.

About the pecans, Foster notes: "I know from experience that you will eat a handful of these pecans before they even see the salad so I made this recipe for twice what the recipe calls for. You might want to double it again, since they are good thrown into just about any salad and also make a delicious cocktail snack." 

Spicy Pecans

Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes From Foster Market by Sara Foster

(Makes 2 cups)

2 cups of pecan halves

3 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp dried rosemary

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the pecans, vanilla, and olive oil in a medium bowl and toss to mix. Stir the rosemary, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and cayenne together in a separate, small bowl. Sprinkle the spices evenly over the pecans and toss again.

Spread the pecans in one layer on a baking sheet with sides and roast, stirring several times during the cooking process, until the nuts are crispy and brown, about 15 minutes. Let the pecans cool to room temperature on the baking sheet, stirring several times while they're cooling to prevent them from sticking together and to the pan. These will last for at least a week in a sealable bag. If you are storing them, make sure they completely cool before placing them in the bag; otherwise, they'll soften in the bag.

Notes/Results: A wonderful salad with lots of flavors and textures. There were no details on the salad Foster's Market serves, other than the arugula, radishes and pecans but adding the goat cheese gave it a nice creaminess and the tomatoes added a little sweetness. Sara Foster is right about the pecans, I snacked on them while they were cooling, while making the salad and for the next couple of days. The combination of flavors and spices on the pecans is great, they have just a small kick from the cayenne and black pepper but you could easily up the amount of chili to make them more spicy. The spiced pecans would make a great hostess or holiday gift. A keeper recipe for sure.

Giveaway #1

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am celebrating my recent one-year "blogoversary" and my 300th post by giving away a different foodie prize for the next three Saturdays. 

To kick it off, the first giveaway prize is one of my favorite cookbooks; 5 Spices, 50 Ingredients: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices by Ruta Kahate. Whether you have a lot of experience cooking Indian food and want some great tasting recipes or you have always wanted to try cooking Indian but have been intimidated by long lists of hard to find ingredients, this book is for you. Kahate's recipes use different combinations of 5 easy to find spices; coriander, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and turmeric, to create simple but delicious Indian dishes.

I have posted a couple of the recipes from this book; Lamb Chops with a Spicy Rub and Baked Fish in a Spiced Broth, and have made many of the other recipes. There are some great vegetable recipes in this book too, so there is a little something for everyone.

How can you enter to win this fun cookbook and add it to your collection? It's simple. Just leave a comment on this post before noon (that is noon Hawaii standard time or 3:00 PM PST and 6:00 PM EST) on Wednesday, May 6th. Since this book is all about the spices, in your comment tell us what your essential 5 spices are. The 5 dried spices you absolutely must have and would keep if you had to give all other spices away. (For example, mine are fresh ground black pepper, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and red chili pepper flakes). 

The winner will be randomly drawn from the comments and announced on Thursday, May 7th. The prize will be sent out once I have the winner's mailing address. You can enter to win regardless of where in the world you live (as long as you can get mail!) and you can enter even if you don't have a blog. Pretty easy! You can tell your friends and family about the giveaway so they can enter, or maybe you will want to keep it "secret" to keep the numbers down and improve your odds!  ;-)  Either way, I hope you enter and look forward to giving out some fun prizes over the next three weeks. 

Good luck and have a great weekend!

Ratatouille with Feta, Green Olives, and Almonds for Tyler Florence Fridays, plus a 300th Post Giveaway Announcement!

I bought a bag of Japanese eggplant at the farmer's market and needed a good way to use them up. I found Tyler's recipe for Ratatouille with Feta, Green Olives and Almonds at the Food Network site (here), and loved the idea of taking the ratatouille and topping it with feta, olives, basil and chopped toasted almonds. Since Tyler is always so good at combining different flavors, I knew it would be good. Although ratatouille is often served as a side dish, this is a great healthy and hearty vegetarian meal, especially with some good multi-grain bread to soak up all the flavorful juices.

Ratatouille with Feta, Green Olives, and Almonds
Tyler Florence
(Makes 6-8 Servings)
Prep Time 20 min. / Cook Time 40 min.

1 cup whole almonds
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup pitted green olives
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves hand-torn
1 medium onion, chopped
5 medium Japanese eggplant, chopped
3 medium zucchini, chopped
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand crushed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Put the almonds into a large skillet over medium heat. Gently toast the nuts, being careful not to let them burn, for about 3 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, 1 chopped garlic clove, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 3 minutes and transfer to a plate to cool. Crush the almonds roughly and put them into a bowl along with the feta cheese, olives, and 1/3 of the basil leaves. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.


Put 3 tablespoons olive oil and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes into the skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, remaining garlic, and 1/3 of the basil leaves and cook until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Put in the eggplant and cook until it is soft, about 10 minutes, adding more olive oil if necessary. Add the zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and capers; season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until these vegetables are soft but still whole. Add the canned tomatoes, vinegar, and remaining basil leaves. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes; remove from the heat and set aside to cool.


To serve, put the ratatouille into a bowl or platter and top with the feta, olive, and almond mixture.

Notes/Results: Delicious with a nice spicy kick. The ratatouille itself is good and when you top it with the feta-almond mixture, it takes it to another level. The recipe goes together easily, it just takes some time to simmer. I didn't drain my canned tomatoes (since it was a can of San Marzano tomatoes and I didn't want to waste any of it), so I ended up with a bit more liquid than was probably intended. I liked it that way though, all the better to dunk my bread in it. This ratatouille is chunky, very filling, and a great meal. It is a keeper recipe for me.

300th Post Giveaway!

This is my 300th post and since I just had my one year Blogoversary a couple of weeks ago, it seems like a good time to celebrate and give away some free "foodie stuff". So for the next three Saturdays, I am going to be giving away something fun and foodie-like in three random drawings. 

Come back tomorrow to see the first prize and get the details of how to enter the drawing. It's just a little way to say mahalo (or thank you) for all the friendship, fun and support that I get from all of you.