From CVHS counselor Jennifer Widaman

Every October I find myself in the same seasonal predicament: Cling to summer? Or tiptoe into fall? Our temperamental SoCal weather loves to tease that fall is here then plunge right back into 90 degree weather, making my predicament even more confusing.  I mean, I love summer! Who doesn’t? Warm evenings spent outdoors with loved ones, sun-ripened fruits, and garden fresh veggies; summer is a time of activity and great adventures, a season to live fully, from sun-up to sundown.

Summer is abundant in qualities that make you feel alive, but if backed into a corner and forced to choose, I’d pick autumn every time. Perhaps it has something to do with being an October baby. Or maybe it’s the way the food and the weather play together so nicely.

There’s just something about a rich braised stew when the night is cold and windy, and nothing beats a rainy afternoon spent with a hot bowl of soup and crusty warm bread.

I love the way fall makes idle solitude feel productive, and time spent with community feel transcendent. Nothing brings idle and community together like a cozy breakfast on a beautiful fall morning. Imagine your house is warm, filled with people you love to hang out with for no reason in particular. The aromas of toasty bread, cheese, eggs, and herbs waft through the house, and mingle with the smell of coffee and the sound of laughter. Meanwhile the morning is cool and crisp, and the light is clear as crystal.

Imagine you look up and realize you’ve been sitting around the table for hours, eating, talking, and refilling coffee, and nothing on your to-do-list has been crossed off. And yet, you know, this was not time wasted. This morning was an investment in a life well lived.

ASPARAGUS AND
PROSCIUTTO STRATA

1 one-pound loaf french, or rustic bread, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1½-inch lengths

¼ pound prosciutto torn into 2-inch pieces

9 large eggs

3 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 cups grated Gruyère cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/3 cup chopped fresh marjoram

Several hours before assembling, place bread on two large baking sheets and let sit uncovered to dry out. Cook asparagus in medium pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender; about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water to stop cooking. Drain well.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in large bowl.

Mix cheeses and herbs in medium bowl. Place half of bread in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle with half the asparagus, half the prosciutto, then half of cheese mixture.

Pour half of egg mixture over the first layer.

Repeat with remaining bread, asparagus, prosciutto, cheese mixture, and egg mixture.

Let stand 20 minutes, pressing with spatula to submerge bread pieces. If assembling the night before serving, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bring to room temperature before baking.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake bread pudding until brown and puffed, about 45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and serve.

This is part three of the salad trio, and Mother’s Day is really close by. My mom used to take me to lunch when I was young, She made me feel special because we would order this delicious triple salad every time. This will always remind me of her.
Anna Loutsos

Tuna Salad -
Mother’s Day Salad Trio

Ingredients:
¾ cup of mayonnaise plus extra
if needed
2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cans albacore tuna (in water), drained and flaked
¼ cup pickle relish
½ cup grated carrots
½ cup chopped celery
1 apple chopped
½ diced red onion

If you have, by chance, a jar of yellow or any chili pepper assortment, use about 2 tablespoons of the juice only. Mix it in with the flaked tuna first.

Garnish using a head of red or green leaf lettuce, romaine, or butter leaf lettuce; cherry tomatoes or whole tomatoes quartered, carrot strips, cucumber slices, and an assortment of different types of olives and pickle spears. You can basically use what ever you like to make it look pretty. Toss all Tuna Salad ingredients together with the mayonnaise. Chill for about an hour so all the flavors can meld.

To put together:
On a pretty serving dish lay your lettuce leaves, place a scoop of Chicken Salad, a scoop of Egg Salad then a scoop of Tuna Salad. Now here’s the fun: garnish your salad with items from the garnish list and have a nice plate of different breads or crackers. Whichever way you choose, it will be beautiful and mom will be so surprised! (You will never forget it) Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautiful mother’s of the world.

Last week I gave you the first recipe of a three-part series, Egg Salad; today’s recipe is Chicken salad, my kind of salad , with sweet, crunchy and savory all put together and the best part it’s delicious and a cinch to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup red or green seedless grapes, halved
1 cup diced celery
½ cup chopped glazed pecans*
¼ cup chopped shallots
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup good mayonnaise
¼ sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped pimentos
½ teaspoon celery seed
Season to taste with salt and pepper

Prepare:
Stir mustard, mayonnaise and sour cream together in a small bowl; combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir dressing over salad and toss together; make your adjustments with the salt and pepper.
*Glazed pecans: In a small bowl add ½ cup chopped pecans with 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon  brown sugar. Mix well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour nuts onto a small baking sheet. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes  depending on your oven, till they are fragrant and heated through, be very careful not to burn them. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely; mix in with your salad. Now all you have to do is enjoy, and don’t forget about part three next week.

Now that Easter has come and gone, what can we do, just what can we do, with all those hard boiled eggs? I say let’s make a lot of delicious egg salad!
Anna Loutsos

Ingredients:
2½ dozen hard boiled eggs, cleaned, roughly chopped and chilled
2 shallots finely chopped
6 celery stalks finely chopped
1½ cups sliced black olives
¼ c. pickle relish
1½ c. mayonnaise
¼c. Dijon mustard
¼ c. sour cream
1 tsp. celery seed
Salt and pepper to taste
Croissants
Some nice leaves of butter lettuce or lettuce of your choice

Prepare:
In a large mixing bowl add all your ingredients and mix gently but thoroughly, cover and chill, so that the flavors can meld. Slice your croissant, place a nice piece of lettuce, add a good scoop of egg salad, place sandwich on serving dish, and add a couple pieces of fruit along side if you like; now all you have to do is enjoy. The next two weeks you will have the recipes for chicken salad, and then tuna salad. On the week of the tuna salad recipe you will have all three recipes, just in time for Mother’s Day! I’ll tell you what to do then for all the wonderful mothers in your life.

This week’s recipe is provided by Judy Reilly of Mi Casa Cooking Workshops.

Fettuccini and Lemon-Parmesan Sauce

1 half lb. fettuccine
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 zucchini, sliced on the bias
1 package of frozen tiny green beans, thawed
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese plus extra for passing
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 tbs. fresh lemon juice

Prepare:
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat and add onion and zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and saute until the veggies are tender – around 4 or 5 minutes. Add the beans and lemon peel and toss. Add the hot pasta to the veggies and toss again. Add the cheese, cream, lemon juice and about 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Place over medium heat until heated through and the sauce coats the pasta. Add  more water as necessary and season with salt and pepper.

With winter fruits at there peak, take advantage of the freshness, apples and blueberries, pears , there all so delicious, people automatically walk to your kitchen wanting to eat. Anna Loutsos

Ingredients:
4 Golden Delicious Apples –peeled, cored and sliced
2 tbls. butter
1 cup brown sugar or Splenda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbls. cornstarch
1 tbls. water
1 (17.25 ounce) package of frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 pint blueberries
1 egg +2 tbls. water = egg wash
Sanding sugar for sprinkling

Prepare:
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place apples into hot skillet, cook and stir for about two minutes, add the brown sugar, and cinnamon, and cook, stirring, for two more minutes, add the blueberries, and cook for another two minutes. Stir together cornstarch and 1 tbls. water. Pour into the skillet, and mix well. Cook for another minute, or until sauce has thickened, remove from heat to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 400f degrees.
Unfold puff pastry sheets, and repair any cracks by pressing them together, smooth out slightly with rolling pin to even out; cut each sheet into four even squares; spoon fruit mixture into each square. Fold over from corner to corner into a triangle shape, and press edges together to seal. Place turnovers on a baking sheet, leaving about one inch between them, pierce each turnover so as steam can release; Mix one egg with one tablespoon
of water, then with a pastry brush, baste the turnovers, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake for twenty-five minutes or so, until golden brown, and turnovers have puffed up.

* If you are in a pinch for time, you can use any can of pie filling that you like.

Here’s a delicious recipe for Eggplant Parmesan, and if
you can’t bare eggplant try any type of squash or zucchini.
Anna Loutsos

Ingredients
1 large eggplant (or squash)
2 pounds, sliced ½” thick crosswise
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup homemade or best quality store-bought marinara sauce
½ cup grated mozzarella
½ cup grated Parmesan

Prepare:
Preheat oven to 450˚. Arrange eggplant on two rimmed baking sheets.
Brush eggplant on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake until golden brown and very tender, 20 to 25 minutes, turning slices and rotating sheets halfway through.

To make sauce: Off heat, in a medium saucepan, whisk together ¼ cup milk, flour, and garlic.
Gradually whisk in remaining ¾ cup milk and ½ cup marinara sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until pink sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
Spread ¼ cup marinara sauce in the bottom of a shallow 2 quart baking dish.
Alternate layers of baked eggplant with pink sauce. Dollop with remaining ¼ cup marinara sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake on upper rack until browned and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil roughly chopped
1-28oz can diced tomatoes*
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Salt, pepper, parmesan and romano cheese to taste

Prepare
Heat olive oil and sauté garlic and crushed red pepper for about 3-4 minutes.
Add sun-dried tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes.
Now add diced tomatoes, add salt and pepper and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Add cherry tomatoes and simmer uncovered for another 10-15 minutes.
Finally add your basil and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Pour sauce over pasta of your choice and then add a really good grated cheese. Make a nice side salad, some good crunchy bread, and you’re set! Enjoy!

*1 (28-ounce) can = 3 cups undrained or  2 to 2 ½ cups drained tomatoes.

When Christmas came around I knew exactly what my mom was going to bake. She made Greek Christmas cookies, or as I knew them, melo-ma-karona, our house felt special. With a little bit of effort, this recipe is delicious.

Anna Loutsos

Ingredients:

2cups vegetable oil

1cup sugar

1cup orange juice

1tbls. Orange rind shavings

¼ cup brand7 ½-8cups flour

2tsp.baking powder 1tsp. baking soda

1tsp.cinnamin

½ tsp. nutmeg

Topping: optional

1cup finely chopped walnuts mixed with one teaspoon cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 350,  beat together sugar, oil, orange juice, rind and brandy. Sift all dry ingredients then add them to oil mixture and mix then gently knead.  Pinch off small amount about the size of an egg, form into little patties, then roll into oblong rolls. Place on un-greased baking sheet and bake at 350for about 30 minutes. Let cookies cool completely (dip cool cookies into hot syrup). Prepare syrup: heat 2 cups honey, 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water, bring to a boil then let simmer for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on it, so as it won’t boil over, skim some of the foam off the top. Keep syrup on the burner and keep it on the lowest setting, dip about 6 cookies at a time and let them soak about 2 minutes, no more. Remove onto wax paper and sprinkle with nut mixture. Serve them individually in paper cupcake liners and display on serving platter. Store remaining in airtight container.