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A Life From Scratch.

A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Pearl couscous with roasted tomatoes

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Happy Meatless Monday friends!

I always feel so proud of myself when I can deliver an actual real true Meatless Monday. More often than not I cheat, and add the meat, but this week I’m staying on course. No meat in this pearl couscous recipe, thank you very much. Do I get a medal? I sort of feel like I should.  

What this recipe does offer is all the flavor. Summer tomatoes are everything, and I love a good roasted one. Mix them up with briny olives and plenty of freshly chopped herbs. Think parsley, mint, and basil. Oh yes, this one has a lot going on. The dressing is kept simple with lemon and olive oil and everything comes together in a lovely dish that works perfectly as a meal on it’s own or served as a side next to some grilled chicken or sausage at your next gathering.

Meal prep friends, this is also a great one to prep on Sunday for the week ahead, or on Friday for busy sport weekends. You can store the dressing on the side if you’d like, although the pearl cous cous really soaks it up nicely. No soggy salad here.

Enjoy!

PEARL COUSCOUS WITH ROASTED TOMATOES AND OLIVES
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

TOMATOES:

2 pints (1 1/2 pounds) grape or cherry tomatoes
3 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
Few springs of fresh thyme, chopped up
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for tomatoes
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

COUSCOUS:
2 1/4 cups pearl couscous
1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped up
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS:

To begin, roast tomatoes. Heat oven to 375. Halve tomatoes arrange, cut sides up, in 1 layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Add garlic and thyme to pan and drizzle both tomatoes and garlic lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt. Roast in middle of oven until tomatoes are slightly shriveled around edges, about 45 minutes or so. Let cool.

Meanwhile, make couscous according to package directions.

When tomatoes are done, make dressing: Peel garlic and puree with 1/4 cup oil, water, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 pepper, and 1/2 cup roasted tomatoes in a blender until dressing is very smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Mix together cooked couscous, dressing, herbs, tomatoes, and olives. Enjoy! 

Sausage with shallots and arugula

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And then there are recipes that come along that are pretty much life changing. 

This Italian sausage with shallots and arugula is one of those recipes.

My mom made it first, and raved how much she and my dad enjoyed it so I knew we had to give it a go. It came together beautifully and you get your protein, starch, and salad all in one delicious heaping bowl. Easy breezy cooking at it’s finest. This is a great dish to entertain with as you have very minimal ingredients and prep work, it smells up your home all lovely, and let’s be honest, it’s pretty easy on the eyes. Place the platter on the table with a slightly chilled pinot noir and you are sure to impress not only your guests, but, yourself.

It’s true. In all my years of cooking and all the recipes I’ve made I sort of can get a bit, well, un phased, if you will. It’s all just sort of normal to me. It’s very inspiring when a recipe comes along that gives just a little reminder that what I do and create in the kitchen does hold a little bit of magic.  

This is that recipe. Get it going my friends, get it going soon.

ROASTED ITALIAN SAUSAGE WITH SHALLOTS AND ARUGULA
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 pounds mixed unpeeled potatoes, I used mini yellow and red and kept them whole. If you have larger potatoes you can half
10 medium unpeeled shallots, halved
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, cut into 3-inch lengths
Few big handfuls of arugula
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 425°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss all of the potatoes and shallots with 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Roast for 15 minutes, they will just start to get some color going.

Give them a toss and add in the sausages. Brush the tops with a little olive oil and return the tray to the oven for another 30 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender and the sausage is cooked through.

Transfer everything on the tray to a big bowl and add arugula, lemon juice, and more salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Italian Sloppy Joes

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Friends.

I don’t ask much of you. I really don’t.

But you have to make this recipe. Like, please. I’m begging you. I’ll get down on my knees, even. 

Because these Italian Sloppy Joes are that good. Actually, they are garlic butter Italian Sausage sandwiches but while eating (ok, devouring) them we came up with a more creative name. The Italian sloppy Joes thing just seemed to fit the bill.

These comes together really easily. Make the garlic butter, set aside. Brown up the sausage with some tomato sauce, basil, and a splash of red wine. Spread the butter on the rolls, fill with the sausage mixture, sprinkle with fresh mozzarella, and bake away.

Once out of the oven, top with freshly minced red onion and basil.

You won’t have one left, promise.

ITALIAN SLOPPY JOES
Recipe from Little Kitchen Big World

Garlic butter:
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup finely chopped basil
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
1 tsp garlic paste (or 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely)

Italian Sausage Mixture:
1 lb ground italian sausage
1 14 oz can of tomato sauce
¼ cup red wine
salt to taste
1 tbsp chopped basil

Sandwiches:
4 sandwich or hot dog buns
shredded mozzarella cheese
chopped red onion and basil for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

For the butter, combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix until fully incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

For the sausage mixture: brown the sausage in a large pan then add the tomato sauce and red wine. Let it simmer for 15 mins over medium low heat. Remove from heat and stir in chopped basil and salt to taste.

For the sandwiches, slather the butter over the inside and tops of buns. Toast in the oven until slightly browned and butter has melted. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Stick back in the oven for a few more minutes to melt cheese, you can always flip on the broiler for this part if you want more browned. Just keep an eye on it.

Remove from the oven and top with chopped onions and basil and serve!

Crunchy slaw salad

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Gosh it doesn’t get better than this, does it. Easy summer cooking at it’s finest. This easy crunchy slaw salad is the perfect sidekick to anything you may decide to throw on the grill.

We enjoyed it next to the the most life changing Carnitas made by my dear friend, Julie. Like, I haven’t actually stopped thinking about them. They have been in my dreams and in my real life day thoughts. I’m consumed. I promise you the recipe as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Moving on…..

The slaw salad sat perfectly next to it. Some smoothness from the buttermilk dressing and lots of crunch from the radishes and celery. It was crispy and bright and cool and just the thing for an eighty five degree summer day, post boating and lake swimming of course.

I actually can’t get this whole meal out of my head, and I think it was due to the perfect experience of the overall day and the fact that a meal was made and served to us. My mom and I always joke about this. She can make the exact same recipe but she swears it tastes better when I do and it’s at my home. Food is funny that way, right? So much more than the actual recipe. It’s all about what is going on with it, and more importantly, that it was something that was made for you.

I will be testing out her killer carnitas in a few weeks and can’t wait to compare. I’m guessing I’m going to like hers better.

CRUNCHY SLAW SALAD
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup really well-shaken buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (if not thickening up, use a smidge more)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons finely minced shallot
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
1 pound Napa cabbage, cored and thinly sliced crosswise (4 cups or so. I used already shredded slaw from the store)
6 radishes, diced up
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced diagonally

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, shallot, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl until sugar has dissolved, then whisk in the chives.

Layer cabbage, radishes, and celery on a large platter. Before serving, gently toss with the buttermilk dressing.

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