Chili over Pesto Pasta

A 'Chili Size' which marries the tomato taste of chili with the italian herbal flavor of basil and saltiness of parmesan.

Ingredients

1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked pasta: bowtie or rigatoni or spiral gives a good appearance and mouthfeel

2 cups tomato based chili with turkey, chicken, or salmon, and beans

2 Tablespoons basil pesto

2 Tablespoons tomato pesto

1 Teaspoon Pesto Hummous powder

2 Tablespoons basil mint tofu spread

1/4 Cup ricotta

1 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

Notes
This was assembled with store bought ingredients, in this case, but would probably benefit/could be fun to make any/all desired components from 'scratch'.  I found pestos are quick to make: had I had fresh basil on hand instead of pesto pasta salad, I might have given it a whirl!  

The chili could play up the Italian connection by using fava beans or cannelini beans instead of pintos. Roma tomatoes perhaps?

Instructions

Cook/heat the chili in a shallow bowl.  While the chili is heating, mix the pasta with the pesto sauce. 

You will be making 2 ricotta mixtures; one tinted red and one shaded green.

Mix the tomato pesto with the 2 Tablespoons of the ricotta in a microwave safe bowl. Heat it.

Mix the basil mint tofu spread, Pesto Hummous powder and rest of the ricotta in a microwave safe bowl. Heat it.

Arrange the pasta around the bowl of chile, decoratively, and in the chili, as desired.

Heat it until warm.

Spoon the red-tinted ricotta around the edges of the pasta. Spoon the green-tinted ricotta inside that ring.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese in the center. Spoon the tablespoon of ricotta in the center.  Sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese overall, as desired.

Spinach Feta Breakfast

A Spinach Feta panoply to highlight Trader Joe's Spinach Feta Chicken Sausage

Ingredients

1 Trader Joe's Spinach Feta Sausage

2 eggs, scrambled

spinach or basil or other salad greens

1/4 cup bow tie pasta, or bow tie spinach pasta salad with or without walnuts

1 tablespoon goat cheese yogurt or other mammalian yogurt, or to taste

1/4 cup spinach dip

4 kalamata olives, chopped, with 2 teaspoons kalamata olive juice1/4 cup spinach puree or indian spinach (Palak Paneer), with or without paneer

1 tablespoon feta or other soft goat cheese, or to taste1/4 cup spinach curry (Spinach with lentils (Dal), garbanzos (Channa Masala), or other bean or other spinach curry)

1 tablespoon goat cheese ricotta or cows milk ricotta, or to taste
Spinach naan, other naan, or pita bread, cut into 3 triangles (traditional) or cut to other shapes with cookie cutters
1 tablespoon crumbled feta or other goat cheese
Spinach chips, crumbled,  optional
Instructions
Cook the sausage in the skillet to brown (already cooked).  While it is cooking, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet.  Add the greens. Get a nice texture by cooking some in the olive oil, and leaving some on the side of the skillet to crisp. Cook until soft and some crisped. The sausage should also be browned by then, so remove from the skillet.
Mix the bow ties and goat cheese yogurt.
Mix the spinach dip and the kalamata olives and juice.
Mix the spinach puree or indian spinach and the feta cheese.
Mix the indian garbanzo spinach or other spinach side and the goat cheese ricotta.
Heat the naan in the preferred onion to heat and soften.
Spread the 3 mixtures onto the naan triangles.
Slice the sausage onto the plate. Arrange the bow ties mixture on the plate, as well as the naan triangles. Remove the spinach greens to keep from softening in the microwave, but can if desired.
Suggest heating the items on the plate in the microwave for a minute, 7 power, but heat as desired.
While that is heating, scramble the eggs.
Arrange the eggs and greens on the plate.  Sprinkle items as desired with feta 'snow' and crisped spinach chips, if desired.

Blueberry Muffin Trifle

A use for leftover blueberry baked goods: blueberry muffins, blueberry bread, blueberry cake, blueberry buckle, blueberry doughnuts, blueberry cupcakes.  Blueberry is one of the most common fruits used in baked goods, so it is a useful default fruit, but one could certainly substitute one's favorite fruit...or...a fruit-based baked good which might have not been that popular with the family...so turn it into a dessert instead!
This recipe is using a standard-sized muffin, so if using a big-box-store-sized-muffin, use half.
Vinegar
Having found Blueberry Vinegar was helpful here, but a few fruit vinegars are available...pomegranate comes to mind...but finding, for example, Dragonfruit Vinegar might be challenging, so a neutral white would work, or match standard apple cider, malt, winish (white, champagne, sherry, red?) with the fruit being used.
-or- go the traditional trifle route and substitute alcohol, recommend Blueberry vodka in this case, for the vinegar.
Yogurt
Again, blueberry yogurt is readily available, but so are other fruit flavors. And, if you have made the muffins from scratch, use plain yogurt and the fruit you used.

1 to 2 different kinds of blueberry baked good, streusal-topped is helpful
5 or 6 squirts whipped cream, approximately 3/4 cup
2 Tablespoons Blueberry vinegar (here, substitute compatible vinegar)
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup frosting, suggest vanilla, french vanilla, or lavender
1/2 cup blueberry yogurt
Dried blueberries (used Trader Joe's Crispy Dried Blueberries)

Slice 1/2 standard muffin into 1/4-inch slices
Layer the muffin slices in the bottom of a 6-inchish diameter bowl, moistening muffin slices with dribbles of vinegar, then spritzing with whipped cream.
Press gently the whipping cream/vinegar into the muffin slices to dampen.
Mix the ricotta cheese, couple more spritzes of whipping cream, frosting together.
Spoon over the muffin layer.
Crumble a 1/2 standard muffin over the ricotta mixture.
Spoon the yogurt over.
Decorate with whipping cream, if desired.
Sprinkle more muffin and/or streusal from muffin on top.
Sprinkle with dried fruit pieces

SSS Doughnut Holes (Sweet, Sour, Salt)

-1 serving-
Ingredients
5 Sour Cream Doughnut holes
1 tablespoon Balsamic Glaze and/or 1 tablespoon White Truffle Balsamic Vinegar and/or 1 teaspoon Agave nectar
5 tablespoons tart vanilla yogurt (Greek or Icelandic, in particular, for extra tartness)
Balsamic salt
Instructions
Split the doughnut holes into halves. Spoon vinegar(s) in portions on a serving plate. Place doughnut holes cut-side down on top of vinegars.  Microwave on Medium for 20 seconds.
Can turn holes cup-side up for a better platform for yogurt. Dab yogurt on top of doughnut holes decoratively or form into cannels and place on top.
Can drizzle Agave nectar on top of the yogurt.
Sprinkle with a pinch of Balsamic salt on each.
Notes:
Can soak pinches of Kosher salt in 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar if Balsamic salt is not available in your area.

Pomme de Terre Tear Gratin

-1 serving -
Ingredients
3/4 cup and 1/4 cup thin sliced Salt & Vinegar potato chips, divided
(this recipe is optimal for using the smaller chip fragments left over from previous snacking bouts.  If using chips from a freshly open bag, break the chips up into smaller pieces, short of crushing them.)
(Dividing the chips, leads to more texture variation.  If you want a creamier mixture, use all chips at once.  For more variation, divide further.)
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated white cheddar
Instructions
Mix the first portion of potato chips, sour cream, and mayonnaise in a microwave safe 1-portion serving bowl.
Microwave on High for 1 minute.
Stir. 
Add the second portion of potato chips. Mix in.
Microwave on High for 30 seconds.
Stir.
Add the grated white cheddar cheese to the top.  Microwave on HIgh for 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
Notes:
The Salt & Vinegar chips have inherent seasoning. Can substitute plain chips. Would want to add salt to taste, pepper?, a teaspoon vinegar.
Can use your preferred level of fat in the mayonnaise and sour cream.
Can use a reduced-fat cheese: the Dubliner Reduced-fat White Cheddar used seemed to strike the right cheddar note, but mild. Can substitute another and/or higher fat cheese.
Can transfer the potato/sauce mixture to an oven safe serving dish and run under the boiler to melt the cheese.
Alternate Ideas:
-Mainstream: use plain potato chips and American cheese melted on top
-Buffalo Wing: substitute buffalo-flavored potato chips, add a few dashes celery salt to the sour cream, substitute blue cheese dip for the mayonnaise, melt blue cheese on top 
-Novelty Chips: use your favorite wacky potato chip flavor, or the chips you tried out on your friends/family which were a No-Go, and match it with a compatible cheese (Dill Pickle with American, Jalapeno and Monterey Jack, Bloody Mary and Horseradish Cheddar)
-French: use plain potato chips, add a teaspoon tarragon or white wine vinegar to the mixture, salt, melt gruyere cheese on top. 
-60's: substitute ruffled chips, substitute onion dip for the sour cream and mayonnaise, sprinkle with french-fried onions
-'Healthier': a thicker-cut 'natural' potato chip: add 30 seconds to the cooking times. The thicker cut chips also better simulates a traditional potatoes gratin

Vegetarian Types

VEGETARIAN: Overall term for people who live on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, with or without eggs and dairy products. Does not eat any meat, poultry, fish, or shellfish.

LACTO-OVO-VEGETARIAN: Most common type of vegetarian, who eats eggs and dairy products.

FLEXTARIAN: Eats mainly vegetarian food but will eat animal meant occasionally for cultural, social and nutritional reasons.

PESCO-VEGETARIAN: Eats fish and non-mammalian seafood but does not eat any other meats.

POLLO-VEGETARIAN: Eats poultry but does not eat red meats such as beef and lamb.

OVO-VEGETARIAN: Eats eggs.

LACTO-VEGETARIAN: Eats Dairy products.

VEGAN: Does not eat dairy products, eggs or any other animal product.

BUDDIST VEGETARIAN:  Forbidden to consume the five pungents (onions, chives, leeks, shallots, and garlic)

Source: The Modern VEGETARIAN: http://crystalbyblog.blogspot.com/
Original Source: July27, 2008 thesundaytimes

Trying to Like Preserved Olives Note

NOTE: it did occur to me today that preserved olives may not be intended to eat 'out of the jar', just as some seaweeds are preserved in salt and they are meant to be rinsed of their youth preserving salt before using.  Bears looking into...though I still like the taste of the brine-frosted seaweed out of the bag.

ALSO: for some reason, a part of my brain keeps thinking of these as 'preserved plums', which it would rather I be eating I guess, as I do like the variety named umeboshi, so I have to keep checking that it hasn't led to me typing 'plum'.  This extends to the URL of the first posting even...