Food Fascination

I admit it - there are summer days when I just have no motivation to cook - all I want to do is munch on something as we relax in the back yard or in front of the fan. It’s those evenings that I’ll make up a bowl of this dip, set it out with French bread and vegetables and dig in. For more than just hot days, though, this dip is also great for groups of people - one recipe serves 2-3 as dinner with bread and raw vegetables or 8-10 as a appetizer dip. Don’t be afraid to make it ahead and let it sit - it actually gets better the longer flavors meld in the fridge.

You’ll need:
1 small package frozen, chopped spinach, or 4 cups fresh, whole spinach leaves
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 package ranch dressing powder mix
2 cups sour cream

Thaw the frozen, chopped spinach and squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible - or, chop the fresh spinach and wilt in a frying pan over medium heat until it’s limp and soft.

Chop the water chestnuts into small chunks

Combine the spinach, chestnuts, ranch mix, and sour cream in a bowl. Dig in!

This is one of my most favorite summer dinner solutions, for those nights when you look at the oven and just can’t bring yourself to turn it on, when even the microwave doesn’t sound like a good idea. It’s easy to customize, and worth every bit of the 10 minutes it takes to put together. It’s also a great excuse to check out your local farmer’s market - almost everything is probably available there, and grown/made locally.

For the most basic of raw pizza, You’ll need:
1 pre-baked pizza crust (Boboli is the most widely commercially available - or make and pre-bake your own)
1 small package fresh mozzarella cheese (shredded will also work)
Fresh basil leaves (they’re usually in the produce section)
1 bunch fresh spinach
1-3 cloves garlic (depending on how much you like)
2-3 red tomatoes
Olive oil (I LOVE the flavored olive oils for this one - try garlic or roasted red pepper.)

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the crust. This will help everything stick.

Layer the spinach and basil leaves over the crust, going out to the edges..

Cut thin rounds of the mozzarella cheese, and arrange over the spinach and basil.

Mince the garlic (or use pre-minced) - sprinkle it over the cheese. (For some, raw garlic is way too strong. If this is the case, saute’ your garlic in a bit of olive oil over medium-high heat until it’s sizzling and softened.)

Slice the tomatoes and arrange over the garlic and mozzarella.

Drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

Slice and dig in!

Some other things to try on this pizza:
Leftover cold chicken
Other types of cheese (try cheddar, or Parmesan)
Cold cuts of ham or turkey
Basically anything you find in your fridge

An explanation of the 7×7 challenge
Follow Bart’s 7×7 Adventure

While Bart didn’t put much dessert-like stuff on his list, Jackie noticed that a modified banana rice pudding would serve beautifully in that role.

Usually, rice pudding is made by boiling rice and milk, cream, eggs, sugar, butter, and all sorts of spices. The starch in the rice blends with the protein of milk and creates a pudding that doesn’t require sirring forever - and actually has some nutritive value!

However, since milk, cream, butter, sugar, and spices are all off Bart’s list, a traditional recipe wouldn’t exactly be possible.
The solution? Use pureed banana as a stand-in for the milk. Banana doesn’t have as many different proteins as milk, but pureed with a bit of water, it would have some of the creamy texture and would provide a good base in which to boil the rice. It would also stand up beautifully to that much heat, and the sugars inherent to bananas would add some sweetness. This recipe could also well-serve as a rice pudding substitute for anyone lactose-intolerant.

So, here’s what we came up with:
5 bananas
1/2 - 1 cup water
1/2 cup white rice (short grain, preferably, but long grain will also serve)
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk (this will help add back some of the richness lost when the milk is left out)
1/2 teaspoon salt

First, send the peeled bananas through either a potato ricer or food processor. Bananas have long strands of fibrous material that wouldn’t serve well in creating a “banana milk”. The ricer will trap these strands, or the food processor will chop them up. Either way, in the end, you should have a bowl full of banana mash. Whisk it with just enough water to create a runny liquid. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and salt.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the banana mixture and rice. Cook over medium-high heat until it just starts to simmer - then cover and cook until the rice is soft. (Depending on the rice, this could be 5-20 minutes. Check the directions). By covering the simmering mixture, you’re trapping the steam in the pot, and helping to force more moisture into the rice. The eggs will solidify a bit and help create the “pudding like” texture of this mixture.

If you’re not limited to 7 ingredients and want to try the banana rice pudding at home, try whisking in a 1/4 cup of brown sugar, a few teaspoons cinnamon, a teaspoon nutmeg, or even 1/2 cup of raisins.