Author Archives: Jess

Week in Photos

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I’m so happy that it is Friday!

Friday is always a good day, but today, I am leaving for the beach!

Yep, this evening, I’m picking Greg up from campus and we are heading south.

Tomorrow we will fall asleep with the ocean right out of our window and Sunday morning we’ll wake up steps from the sand. Beach vacations are the best.

I wish I was ahead of things and had posts ready for you for next week, but I don’t. The Dreaming Foodie will be back next Monday or Tuesday!

I hope that whatever it is you may be doing this weekend you enjoy!

For now, enjoy five little things that made my week special.

{This lasagna. A creation from Greg and I. It was the best.}

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{These cards. I bought them from a new friend at farmer’s market. To read about the cause, click here and to read about the artist, click here.}

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{This. I love listening.}

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{This breakfast. Rice cake + peanut butter + this red raspberry jam. I shared this with you yesterday, so I thought I would show you today.}

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{I took this photo about five minutes ago. Ready to be loaded into the car. I’m so excited!}

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I hope that you have a good weekend and week next week! I’m hoping that where I am and wherever you are the sun is shining!

Red Raspberry Jam

4 Replies

I don’t need to tell you this again.

But, for those who don’t already know, I am obsessed with jam. You can read all about it here, if you really want to.

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How do you like to enjoy your jam?

On toast? Muffins? Scones, english muffins, in oatmeal? I like jam all of those ways. Lately I’ve been eating rice cake + peanut butter + jam (Greg thinks I’m really strange). But I really just enjoy it many different ways. Jam is so good!

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Speaking of scones. One time at this adorable place — Dandelion Market — in Charlotte, NC, where Greg and I were eating breakfast, we were served mini scones and mini muffins as a breakfast bread bowl! You know how restaurants bring you rolls out before dinner? Well this place brought mini scones and muffins with homemade jam and honey before breakfast! I was so in love with the idea I told Greg that I was going to do it at home, like on weekends and special occasions. Make mini scones and muffins and serve them cute with jam and honey and it will feel like we are on vacation all the time!

I think I did it once.

But don’t we all want to feel like that all the time. Special and vacation-y with fresh out of the oven scones and homemade jam? Of course we do!

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Anyway, you know how I told you yesterday that I am in love with dessert and Greg just likes it? Well, same with jam. I think I saw him eat it once (the time in Charlotte). But! We went to brunch a couple weeks ago to this amazing place, Cake. I asked for jam with my toast and to my surprise, the waitress brought out homemade red raspberry jam. It was so good. Greg tried a bite. And, before I knew it, the rest of his toast was covered in jam! It was that good. I knew I had to try my own red raspberry jam.

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It has been awhile since I made my own jam. I’ve been eating some different kinds from Trader Joe’s. They are all good, but I just love having something homemade.

This jam is nothing but fruit and sugar. If you are looking for an easy, no fuss, quick yet delicious jam recipe, this is it.

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My raspberry jam has a 6:1 fruit to sugar ratio. I love the taste of fruit, naturally, and don’t think that it needs a ton of sugar for sweetening. Red raspberries are a bit tart naturally and the small amount of sugar in this hides that bite just enough.

For this batch, I used 3 cups of fruit and 1/2 cup of sugar. That can be easily changed, depending on how much fruit you start with. Just keep the 6:1 ratio in mind. Also, if you prefer a sweeter jam, taste as you go while making this and adjust the sugar level accordingly.

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I left all of the seeds in this jam. I wanted this to be as easy and simple as possible, so I did not bother with the straining of the seeds. I actually enjoy the seeds in jam, anyway. Be aware, though, because I do know that some people prefer seedless jam!

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I want to talk about the thickness of this jam. I will warn you, this jam is not thick. I did not put anything in it, like pectin, which would have significantly thickened it.

I will say, I gave it the blizzard test. When I used to get blizzards from Dairy Queen when I was younger, they would turn them upside down before they gave it to me, so that I could see how thick it was. Do they still do that? Anyway, this jam passed the blizzard test. I put some jam on a muffin and turned it upside down. They jam stayed in place! If you are okay with jam that isn’t completely “jellied”, like me, then no worries! This will be good for you.

But, if you are not okay with that, how about some other ideas. How about served right off the stove over some creamy vanilla ice cream or a topping for waffles and pancakes (need to try soon!).

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Thick or not, this jam has amazing taste. Fresh summer red raspberries with a touch of sweet sugar. My new favorite breakfast topping!

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Ingredients
3 cups fresh red raspberries
1/2 cup of sugar

Add the rinsed raspberries to a pot over medium heat. Let the raspberries get warm, until they start to bubble and slightly simmer. Using a potato masher, smash the berries well, until they are sauce-like. Add the sugar and let the berries simmer for about 10 minutes.

Let the mixture cool, and then add the jam to a jar or container. Let cool longer before serving.

Enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato + Pesto Quiche

14 Replies

More quiche for you!

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This one was good. I think the best one ever. Pesto + cheese + heirloom tomatoes = an unbelievable combination. One that I would put in pasta. Why not in a quiche?

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I’ve said it before but I just love making quiche and having it around because it is good for any meal.

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Serve it with some form of potato for a nice weekend breakfast, on it’s own for lunch or with a big green salad for dinner.

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It just works!

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I usually make two quiches at a time and eat them for various meals all throughout the week.

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And, I use frozen store-bought crust. I wish I was making my own, but I’m just not there yet. Does anyone have a super simple homemade crust recipe? Please share — I’d love to give it a try.

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Now, for this quiche, you definitely have to like pesto to enjoy it. I made this once and put 1/2 cup of pesto in it. The pesto flavor was prominent. I did enjoy it, but the next time I made it I put 1/3 cup of pesto in it, just to see how that would turn out. It was good too and much less strong on the pesto taste. So, in the ingredients list I said to add 1/3 – 1/2 cup of pesto, depending on your taste for it! It’s good either way, just choose how strong you want it to be!

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Also, as far as assembling the quiche. The first time I made it, the order I went in was first crust (obviously), pesto, tomatoes, cheese, egg. The second time I went crust, pesto, cheese, egg and then tomatoes. I reversed the order of egg and tomato. I definitely enjoyed the second try better as far as order, with the egg going before the tomatoes — the tomatoes on top. That is what I put in the directions.

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I hope that you get to make and enjoy this simple, delicious quiche!

Ingredients:
*This is what I used for one quiche. Can easily be doubled, tripled, etc.
1 9-inch pie crust (I used a frozen store-bought one)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used coconut)
1/3 – 1/2 cup pesto
3/4 cup mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350*.

Start by slicing the tomatoes. I took each mini heirloom tomato and sliced it lengthwise into thirds.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Whisk the eggs well. Add the coconut milk (or regular milk) and whisk well again until the milk is incorporated.

Spoon the pesto into the bottom of the pie crust. Using the back of a spoon, gently smooth it over the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle the cheese over the pesto. Pour the eggs over the cheese. At this point, I took the whisk I used to mix the eggs and very gently stirred the egg mixture in the crust. I did not want to incorporate all of the ingredients, just wanted to make sure they cooked together a bit. Last, place the tomatoes slices over the eggs. The tomatoes should cover the entire top of the quiche.

Place the quiche in the preheated oven and bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Increase the heat to 400* and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

*This will be best if you let if cool for about 20 minutes before eating. It will be watery/runny straight from the oven. The longer you let it cool, the better it will be. It makes excellent leftovers because once you warm it up in the microwave, it doesn’t get runny again.

Enjoy!

Notes:
-I made this once and used 1/2 cup of pesto and another time I used 1/3 cup of pesto. It was good both times. The pesto amount is definitely flexible — the point of it is to add flavor — so add as much or as little depending on your love (or not) of it.

-If you can’t find mini heirloom tomatoes (I feel like I was lucky!) just used grape or cherry tomatoes. Or any tomatoes you have!

-You can use any type of milk that you like! It doesn’t have to be coconut.

-It seems to me that the time in the oven for quiche is very variable. The first time I made this quiche it took 35 minutes total. The second time it took 50 minutes total. I bake it on on a lower temperature at first, just to get it started without being too hot right away. Once you increase the heat to 400*, I would start checking it after 30 minutes.

-Again, this is best if you let if cool before eating. It is watery/runny right out of the oven. It reheats in the microwave very well.

Week in Photos

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Happy Friday, friends!

Please enjoy, five little things that made my week.

{This. So happy to feel cool.}

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{This kitty. He is so photogenic :)}

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{This pasta. A ‘use-whatever-you-have’ type of lunch that turned out delicious.}

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{This muffin. Topped peanut butter, banana and honey. Too good.}

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{This. We applied!}

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Enjoy every moment of your weekend. Talk to you Monday!

What made your week special?

Salmon + Veggie Salad

5 Replies

I’ve got another salad combo for you.

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Juicy tomatoes.

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Creamy avocado.

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Salty capers.

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Pickled red onions.

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And fresh, delicious salmon.

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Piled high on a bed of greens.

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This salad is amazing. Everything goes so well together. Also great for these warm days. It requires very little cooking and prep work.

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In the directions, I tell you how I prepared my salmon for this salad. But you should definitely prepare it your favorite way. If you have a grill, I am sure that would be perfect {dreaming of the day I can have a grill}.

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I suggest an oil-based dressing for this salad, but again, use what you love. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Oh, I have to mention! This salad was inspired by a delicious meal we ate the The Tomato Bistro.

Ingredients
*This is for two salads. Double, triple, etc., as you please.
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 avocado, sliced
4 tablespoons capers
1/4 of a red onion, sliced
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
2 fillets of salmon, whatever size you like to eat
Juice from one half of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Mixed greens (or your favorite lettuce)

First prep your veggies. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Slice the avocado. Slice 1/4 of a red onion. Place the onion slices in a bowl and completely cover with red wine vinegar. Let this sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan over medium-high heat. Let the oil get hot and then add the salmon fillets. I cooked mine for about 2 minutes on each side. Once the first side was done, I sprinkled salt and pepper on each fillet, squeezed some lemon juice into the pan over the salmon and then flipped them. I cooked the other side for 2 minutes and squeezed the rest of the lemon juice on the salmon.

To arrange the salad, I would suggest tossing the greens with dressing first. You can do this in a big bowl and then transfer the dressed greens to smaller serving bowls. In each serving bowl, arrange the tomatoes, 1/2 of an avocado, 2 tablespoons capers, one half of the red onions and one fillet of salmon.

Enjoy!

Notes:
– Letting the onion sit in red wine vinegar is sort of a really quick pickling process. It takes the bite out of the onion, makes them soft and almost sweet. You can let the onion soak in the vinegar as long as you want, even overnight!