blissful eats with tina jeffers: Warm shrimp and lentil salad

Trying to navigate the world of dieting these days is like walking thru a minefield.  There is so much advice and it all seems to contradict itself.  I have been on every diet in the book since I was 8 years old.  I was the only kid I knew that had to go to a weight watchers weigh in instead of the park after school.  The second I announce that I am on a diet I go into a panic and all I can think about is all the food I need to deprive myself of and then I find myself reaching for a bag of chips.  I have found that the best way for me to lose weight is to not make any food off limits but to eat the foods I love in moderation.  Steering clear of processed and fast food is also a huge help to the waistline.  Nothing is off limits as long as I take the time to prepare it myself and limit my portions. 

By gathering the very best ingredients I can and treating them simply allows me to feel like everything I eat is an indulgence.  Like in this super simple salad, lightly sautéed shrimp combined with sweet cherry tomatoes and earthy lentils come together for a super healthy satisfying lunch or light dinner.   Eating dishes like this doesn’t feel like I’m depriving myself of anything, it even leaves room for a little dessert.

Warm shrimp and lentil salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups French green lentils, rinsed

1 shallot, halved

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic chopped

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup cherry tomatoes

¼ cup freshly chopped parsley

Method:

Place lentils and shallot in a medium saucepan with one teaspoon salt and cover with water by two inches.  Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain, discard shallot. 

In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until softened.  Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook tossing occasionally, until shrimp are just cooked through, about 3 minutes. 

Combine vinegar and remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss lentils, cherry tomatoes and parsley with vinaigrette.  Top with a few pieces of shrimp and garnish with additional parsley.

blissful eats with tina jeffers: Nutty quinoa energy bites

I am trying to eat a little better these days and I have come to the realization that I really fall down when it comes to snacks.  For the most part I eat fairly well but when I am stressed out or away from home I have a bad habit of reaching for a bag of chips or a candy bar.  Since I’m trying to drop a few pounds I decided to try to find an easy snack to put together that I can grab after a workout or whenever I need a little energy boost.

These energy bites come together in a few minutes, especially if you have some leftover cooked quinoa and they store well in the fridge or freezer.  The quinoa and chia seeds offer a great dose of omega 3’s as well as a good source of protein that will fill you up without weighing you down.

This recipe can be super flexible as well, replace the quinoa with oats or puffed rice, use any kind of nut butter you’d like and for a little extra sweetness consider the addition of dried fruit such as cherries or dates.  I would love to hear any ideas or variations you come up with!

Nutty quinoa energy bites

Makes about a dozen bites

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

¼ cup ground flaxseed

¼ cup chopped roasted cashews

2 tablespoons chia seeds

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

a pinch of salt

¼ cup creamy almond butter

¼ cup honey

¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

Method:

Combine quinoa, flaxseed, cashews, chia seeds, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and stir together.  Heat the almond butter and honey in a small saucepan, stir and cook until the mixture is melted and smooth.  Let the mixture cool slightly and then add to the quinoa mixture and mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated.  Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, the mixture will be soft and slightly sticky.  Roll the bites in the sesame seeds to coat.  Place the finished bites on a plate or cookie sheet and freeze for 20 minutes then they are ready to eat!  Keep them stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

blissful eats with tina jeffers: Olive Oil crackers

I have a hard time entertaining.  Maybe it’s my mother’s influence but when I host a party I always go overboard.  I am not content to buy foods that are already prepared and usually choose to try new complicated dishes that I’ve never made before.  This weekend we had some friends over for the Labor Day Weekend and as usual I was overly ambitious.  I made homemade pasta, focaccia, and two kinds of cobbler for dessert.  

I take immense pleasure in feeding those I care about.  Sitting around a table surrounded by friends with great food and even better conversation is when I am at my happiest.  I did try to simplify the appetizers so I started with a simple cheese and charcuterie plate but I couldn’t resist making my own crackers.

The recipe comes from 101 cookbooks, and as usual it’s a winner.  Thin crispy crackers that are perfect for slathering whatever topping you can dream up for them.  I went fairly simple and made two versions, one with basil and sea salt and another with rosemary and cracked pepper.  I went the rustic route and baked them into large sheets and broke them into pieces by hand but you can cut them into any shape you’d like.  If you can’t find semolina flour you could use whole wheat or a combination of your favorite flours instead.  I am thinking about trying a sweet version with whole wheat, honey and hazelnut meal next time.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

Olive Oil crackers

 from 101 cookbooks

makes 12 large crackers

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups semolina flour

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

1 cup warm water

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 egg mixed with one teaspoon water

toppings of your choice (rosemary, parmesan cheese, poppy seeds, basil, black pepper)

Method:

Whisk together the flours and salt.  Add the water and olive oil.  Using a mixer with a dough hook attachment mix the dough at medium speed for about  -7 minutes.  The dough should be just a bit tacky.  If you need to add a bit more water or flour, do so.

When you are done mixing, shape the dough into a large ball.  Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces.  Gently rub each piece with a bit of olive oil, shape into a small ball and place on a plate.  Cover with a clean dishtowel or plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 – 60 minutes.

While the dough is resting, pre-heat the oven to 450F degrees.  Insert a pizza stone into the oven if you have one.

When the dough is done resting, flatten one dough ball. Using a rolling pin or a pasta machine, shape into a flat strip of dough. Pull the dough out a bit thinner by hand (the way you might pull pizza dough). You can also cut the dough into whatever shape you like at this point. Set dough on a floured (or cornmeal dusted) baking sheet, poke each cracker with the tines of a fork to prevent puffing.  Brush the crackers with the egg wash, add any extra toppings, and slide into the oven (onto the pizza stone). Repeat the process for the remaining dough balls, baking in small batches. If you don't have a pizza stone, bake crackers a few at a time on baking sheets. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until deeply golden, and let cool before eating.

blissful eats with tina jeffers: Black and blue berry cobbler

I can’t believe that summer is almost over.  I feel like I blinked and missed it.  We’ve been caught up in getting ready for school to start and I have to say that it can’t come soon enough.  My son has been having a hard time keeping busy the last few weeks and I could use a little down time. 

The one thing that is still screaming summer is all the amazing fruit and produce still available at the farmers market.  I love blackberries and have been buying them by the pint every chance I get.  I love to eat them out of hand, over my morning yogurt, in salads and especially in this amazingly simple cobbler.  It only takes a few minutes to prepare and you are rewarded with a sweet, sticky utterly delicious dessert that just screams for a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Feel free to experiment with the choice of fruit, peaches, nectarines, raspberries would all be lovely. 

Black and blue berry cobbler

Serves 6

Ingredients:

For the berry filling:

1 pound of blackberries

1 pound of blueberries

2/3 cup natural cane sugar

3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the biscuit topping:

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

¼ cup millet flour

¼ cup cornmeal

3 tablespoons natural cane sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces

½ cup cold buttermilk 

Method:

For the filling:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees

Butter a 2-quart ovenproof dish.  Add the blackberries, blueberries, flour, sugar, lemon juice and zest and toss to combine.  Let stand while you prepare the biscuit dough.

For the biscuit dough:

In a bowl, sift together the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add the butter to the mixture and using your fingers break the butter into the mixture until you have pea-sized bits of butter mixed in with the flour.  Gently mix in the buttermilk and mix with a spoon just until the dough comes together. 

Drop spoonfuls of the dough on top of the fruit mixture in a random pattern.  It should be uneven and not cover the entire surface of the filling. 

Bake until the juices have thickened and the biscuit top is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.  Let cool slightly.

Scoop the cobbler into dishes and serve with vanilla ice cream while still warm.

blissful eats with tina jeffers: Roasted Fig, blue cheese and honey tartines

I was fortunate enough a few weeks ago to attend a workshop with Helene and Clare, two amazing gifted food photographers.  Helene writes one of my favorite food blogs and I was so flattered and excited to learn that she had seen my work here on Bliss!  The food from Becky was amazing and watching her style a plate of food is truly watching an artisit at work.  I spent three days learning how to style, shoot and look at my recipes in a new light and I had a wonderful time.  We had the opportunity spend the day photographing at Poppy restaurant, I had never really done any documentary style photography and it was a great learning experience.  I thought I’d share some of my favorite photos from the weekend with you as well as this delicious tartine that I found on Helene’s site.  The only change I made was to roast the figs separately with a little balsamic vinaigrette before assembling the sandwiches.  This makes the perfect light lunch paired with a simple side salad.  Looking back at all these photos makes me wish I could do it all over again!  You can always find me during the rest of the week at my blog www.scalingbackblog.com!

Here are some shots from Poppy Restaurant.  It is such a beautiful space and the food was amazing.  

We were given challenges during the workshop such as how to properly style a salad and put together a beautiful cheese plate, what do you think?

On our second day we took things outside and had a picnic shoot in the park.  The best part was eating it all after we were finished!

Roasted Fig, blue cheese and honey tartines

Adapted from Tartelette

Ingredients:

8 slices of bread

½ cup crumbled smoky blue cheese

8 figs

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 ½ tablespoons honey

salt and pepper to taste

Method: 

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Slice the figs into quarters or slice into thirds.  In a small bowl combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and one tablespoon of honey.  Lightly brush the figs with the dressing and sprinkle the thyme over the top.  Cook the figs for 10-12 minutes until they start to caramelize. 

Turn the oven to your broiler setting.  Line another baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the slices of bread onto the sheet.  Top each slice of bread with a tablespoon of blue cheese and a few slices of roasted fig.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Broil the tartines just until the cheese starts to melt.  Remove from the oven and drizzle each tartine with a teaspoon of honey.