humid with a side of salad

Sorry for the hiatus - I guess you could blame a numerous amount of things in my life. Laziness being the primary excuse. I recently got a new job; I have my own desk, with my name on it and everything. I have 2 computer screens - which at first made me feel really special, because most people on my floor only have 1. Wishful thinking on my part, because in this case, 2 monitors means your less likely to want to look at another computer screen when you get home after an 8 hour shift. Seriously - I cringed pressing the start button on my laptop this evening after my work computer crashed 4 times today- Bless the Lord I have a Macbook & its rare that my good ol' apple is rude enough to shutdown on me- though its happened).

Anyway, it has been EXTREMELY humid here in Ottawa these past few days. Seriously humid - as in no point of doing your hair humid, no point in wearing clothes humid. As in peak temperatures were over 40 degrees today and yesterday with the humidity. So I have lived by making salads .... Really I have made the same salad almost every day this week because it tastes that good & its really easy.

Heres what ya' need:
1 container of bocconcini cheese (pearls)
1 container of cherry tomatoes
1 large english cucumber
1 container of arugula
1 half thinly sliced red onion
6-8 fresh basil leaves
1 package of prosciutto
2-3 tbsp of olive oil
1/3 a bottle of balsamic
1/3 a cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground salt & pepper

Set your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking dish with a sheet of tin foil (this will help to make clean up quicker). While the oven preheats; line the baking dish covered in tin foil with 4 pieces of prosciutto (make sure they aren't touching each other). When ready, put the sheet in the oven & set the timer to 10 minutes. Cut up the cherry tomatoes (in halves), the cucumber (in bite size pieces, or if you're feeling fancy you can cut the whole cucumber into 4 equal parts & shred it with your potato peeler, discarding the peal- careful of your fingers). Drain the bocconcini cheese pearls in the sink & set aside, tear up the basil leaves, and shred the parmesan cheese. Check on your prosciutto - if you notice its starting to look crispy take it out & set it aside; if it isn't let it bake a few more minutes, keeping a close eye. While thats cooling off; in a small pot, start cooking your balsamic vinegar on a medium to high heat to reduce it (about 10 to 15 minutes). Make sure to stir this occasionally, as it does stick to the bottom of the pot. In my experience it tends to cook slow, so I like to put a lid on mine partially, making sure to keep a closer eye on it. While this is reducing, get your salad prepared on a plate or bowl. I prefer to use a larger serving plate for this salad, because I feel as though it looks a lot nicer. Lay your arugula down on the plate, then your cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, bocconcini cheese & torn basil leaves. Crumble your baked prosciutto on top. Sprinkle olive oil evenly atop the salad, & following the same method with your reduced balsamic. The balsamic should be a thicker consistency, but still thin enough for your to evenly spread by drizzling it with a spoon. Top with freshly ground salt & pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese & a few extra basil leaves. This recipe has served 3 very hungry people as a side dish with BBQ'ed chicken.

Enjoy & stay cool friends,
Nicole!

hot cheese soup

Ricotta cheese is probably one of my favourite cheeses to work with. I truly believe it was sent from the cheese Gods. You can use it in just about anything, from home made gnocchi, SOUP, desserts & even spreads. Its a lighter cheese, so it won't weigh you down as much... seriously- but it will still fill ya up.

My mum used to make this for me all the time when I was younger & stopped making it for the longest time. I went home for a visit & she made it as a quick meal for lunch for us one day. My first bowl of ricotta cheese soup may have been where my true love for soup began. I brought the recipe home to Ottawa & made it for my friends, and everyone loved it -so much they ask me to make it for them all the time. We make this soup at home almost once a week. Its fast, easy, and delicious - almost like an Italian wedding soup, but its a vegetarian friendly option.


What you need:

2 containers of ricotta cheese - I typically use Trestelle, but it can sometimes be pricey if its not on sale.
2 cups of bread crumbs
1 egg
1 palm full of dried oregano
1 palm full of garlic salt
a pinch of freshly ground salt & pepper
1 bag of spinach
2 jars of chicken stock (or your favourite)
for garnish - freshly grated parmesan cheese, basil

Combine all ingredients but the spinach, stock & garnish in a large mixing bowl, mixing well. Seriously mix this really well. I suggest taking off any rings. Ricotta cheese may taste really good, but it won't look very good encrusted into your pretty jewels. Okay set that aside for now. Fill a large pot  with your favourite stock. We always have homemade jars of chicken stock on hand - or even boxed campbell's broth. Whatever broth you like works, but I suggest a chicken or vegetable broth. Set to a medium/low heat with the lid half on. Back to the ricotta. Start forming balls out of the mixture & setting onto a cutting board or plate. These should be the same size at meatballs, & fit nicely into your palm. This mixture should yield about 9-10 cheese balls. If you notice you are unable to form a good cheese ball because your mixture is too runny, simply add some more bread crumbs, until your ricotta dough is easy to mould into balls. Once you are done making your cheese balls, check on your broth. By this time it should have started to slowly boil. If it hasn't, turn the heat up a bit. If your broth is really boiling turn it down. You want to drop your cheese balls into a hot broth - not a full throttle cauldron of stock. Drop all of your balls into the broth. Turn the heat up to medium & let it cook for about 4 minutes. Add an entire bag of spinach to the pot, really submerging it into the broth. Let cook for another 3-4 minutes. Your cheese balls will float to the top of the broth. Serve up in deep bowls. This pot will feed about 4-6 big bowls of soup. I like to serve to cheese balls per bowl with a generous portion of broth. Garnish with some freshly grated parmesan cheese & some finely chopped basil. If you do happen to have any left over, this soup is great the next day. The flavours really come out even better after a night of soaking in its own broth. I like to cut into my meat balls, which helps to thicken up the broth. If you have any crusty bread on hand, its tastes pretty damn good dipped in.

Hope you enjoy!!

Nicole