Vegetarian Cauliflower Steaks

A Recipe You’ve “Bean” Waiting For!

We want to be sure that vegetarian meals are provided for our guests or those attending events that prefer them. But often I simply enjoy just experimenting with fresh, garden ingredients. Here’s a new dish that is both vegetarian and gluten free. It also contain legumes – a wonderful and healthy source of protein. With lovely vegetables being harvested from our gardens, why not be creative? A friend in our community was my taste tester and she told me she couldn’t wait for me to post this recipe. It has all the flavors of summer with the basil, tomato and lemon. Buon appetito!

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Vegetarian Cauliflower Steaks
SERVINGS
4servings
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
servings
COOK TIME
20mins
PREP TIME
10mins
READY IN
45mins

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cut a head of cauliflower into 1/2 inch ‘steaks’ from top to bottom
  2. Put cauliflower on a parchment lined tray and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with onion salt. Roast at 425 degrees F for 35 min or until golden brown and tender.
  3. Meanwhile, add 2 Tbsp of olive oil to a sauté pan and heat. Add diced red onion and sauté over medium low heat until soft. Add the garlic, parsley, basil and tomato and cook for another minute. Add the white wine and juice of one lemon and simmer until liquid is reduced. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the legumes and lemon zest - taste and adjust seasonings.
  5. When ready to eat, spoon the bean mixture over your roasted cauliflower steaks and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Serve warm with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and garnish with a sprig of fresh basil. Enjoy!

Watermelon Gazpacho

One of the most popular events offered to the public here at the Community of Jesus at this time of the year is our summer dinner theatre.

Interest in this continues to increase every season, which is not surprising. Eating a splendid, perfectly prepared meal out on the patio overlooking the harbor, just in itself, provides a most enjoyable and memorable evening, but having that as well as a spectacular dramatic performance in Paraclete House following  it is an exceptional experience in every way.

Today one of the cooking sisters has been perfecting a recipe for the appetizer course of this week’s dinner menu. I came upon her in the kitchen as she was carving up a magnificent watermelon to go into this zesty chilled gazpacho, a refreshing flavorful creation. You yourself may want to consider serving for some meal in the near future!

This delicious meal will accompany Elements Theatre Company’s performance of Sylvia by A.R. Gurney. Follow this link to learn more about the show, and reserve your tickets! https://elementstheatre.org/sylvia/

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Watermelon Gazpacho
SERVINGS
4servings
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
servings
COOK TIME
PREP TIME
15-20mins
READY IN
15-20mins

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Coarsely chop cucumbers, yellow pepper, red onion, basil and parsley. Combine with cubed watermelon and cherry tomatoes.
  2. Working in batches, put a few cups of ingredients in the blender or food processor to combine. An immersion blender works for this process as well!
  3. Blend ingredients until just before gazpacho is completely smooth—there should be small pieces of pepper, tomato and herbs visible in the gazpacho.
  4. Chill overnight or in the freezer for an hour, stirring occasionally. This can be served with a garnish of diced yellow peppers on top. Serve chilled and enjoy a refreshing twist on a summer classic! We recommend pouring the gazpacho into bowls and chilling the bowls in the refrigerator prior to serving.

Crab-filled Avocados

Looking for a gift for someone who has everything? Something a bit out of the ordinary that doesn’t come out of a catalog or off of the internet?  A gift that will express care and best wishes for the person in a way they may appreciate more than a costly, beautifully wrapped package?
Here’s a suggestion: How about a lovely personalized tea?  “Just for two” — or for whatever number of others you know they’d enjoy having it with! Either indoors or outdoors, fancy and elegant, or simple and casual.  You’d be surprised at the response you’re apt to get. because it’s a gift for all ages! Young and old and in between… My 12-year-old godchild looks forward to her annual birthday tea every year as much as she did the first time one was given to her at age 7.  I know several 80-year-olds who no longer feel up to participating in many activities they used to enjoy, yet, at the mention of a tea, immediately brighten up summoning energy and enthusiasm from some unknown source.
Perhaps this recipe may inspire you with your own ideas for something similar. Just the planning and preparation of such a gift can turn out to be a gift to yourself as you find unexpected enjoyment in creating and preparing it for someone else!
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Crab-filled Avocados
SERVINGS
4people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
people
COOK TIME
PREP TIME
20mins
READY IN
20mins

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. For each avocado half: mix together 1/4 cup of crumbled crabmeat, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, a pinch of onion salt, and fresh lemon juice (to taste).
  2. Adjust ingredients to desired taste, and add a sprinkle of lemon zest and chopped parsley for garnish. Spoon into avocado half and serve!

Marinade for Steaks and Chops

Years ago, there was a collaboration between all the cooks in the Community, resulting in a lovely little cook book, “Recipes that Bear Repeating.” The creation of this book was a true labor of love. For months, recipes were written out, exchanged, and “tested” in all the households. Many notes and conversations later, such as “What do you mean by one can? What size can?” or “What does ‘until done’ mean? We need a time estimate!”, this treasury of favorites was pulled together and printed, including traditions for holidays and special occasions from the Community. This Marinade for Steaks and Chops is definitely an All-Star from the book! Right now, at Priory Books & Gifts if you buy one of the Sisters’ hand-made aprons, you get a copy of your own for free! Don’t miss out on this little treasure.

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Marinade for Steaks and Chops
SERVINGS
3 1/2cups
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
cups
COOK TIME
PREP TIME
READY IN

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
  2. Cover meat with marinade and chill for several hours. Turn meat several times to allow the flavor to penetrate more evenly. If stronger flavor is desired, refrigerate overnight.
  3. Let meat come to room temperature before cooking.
  4. It may be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for two weeks or in the freezer indefinitely.

Hearty Beef Stew

All the convent sisters continue to work on preparations for Spirit of America Band’s participation in the Dubai workshops at the end of this month. Whether or not they play an instrument or are even going on the trip themselves every sister is very involved and supportive of the endeavor in whatever way they are able to contribute.

Last week the emphasis was on sewing. All who could helped with the job of fitting, altering and adjusting each uniform. This week when the participants from all over the country come together for rehearsal, we will be feeding about 200 people for the entire weekend; so much help will be needed in Paraclete House Kitchen. One of the meals that has hit the spot with most of the group and received a lot of praise is this hearty beef stew that not only provides them with needed energy but also satisfies their taste buds in a special way.

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Hearty Beef Stew
SERVINGS
8people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
people
COOK TIME
8hours
PREP TIME
35minutes
READY IN
8hours, 35 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Place in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.
  2. Add half of beef to skillet; cook, turning to brown on all sides, about 8 minutes.
  3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high.
  4. Repeat procedure with remaining beef.
  5. Add wine to skillet; scrape to loosen browned bits from bottom of pan.
  6. Bring wine to a boil, and cook 1 minute.
  7. Add to slow cooker.
  8. Stir in tomato paste, salt, pepper, carrots, garlic, celery, onions, and 2 cups beef stock.
  9. Add thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
  10. Cover and cook on LOW until beef is tender, 7 1/2 to 8 hours.
  11. Whisk together flour and remaining 1/2 cup stock.
  12. Add flour mixture and to slow cooker.
  13. Increase heat to HIGH; cover and cook until bubbly and thickened, about 5 minutes.
  14. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
  15. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Italian Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Beautiful zucchini and yellow summer squash continue to come in from the gardens every day, and while they do it would be a shame not to have a nice stuffed zucchini boat meal before the season slips by. This is what last night’s convent cook thought as she prepared to make our dinner. She wanted to do something a little different from what we usually do and she turned out a meal that brought applause from the entire sisterhood even though we have had quite a few zucchini meals this summer. Using a combination of sweet and hot Italian sausage and a generous mixture of favorite Italian cheeses she succeeded in satisfying even the most discriminating pallet that evening.

The two things, I think, that put this dish over the top was the combination of cheeses (she used Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, Asiago and Gorgonzola) any of which give a distinctive taste, and then the generous use of fresh garden herbs like basil, oregano and Italian parsley.

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Italian Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats
SERVINGS
2people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
people
COOK TIME
25-30 minutes
PREP TIME
15 minutes
READY IN
40-45 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Blanch the zucchini in a large pot of boiling water, 7 minutes, then place in cold water 5 minutes. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then scoop out all but ¼ inch of flesh. Brown the sausage in a small skillet, breaking the pieces into small bits, 5 to 6 minutes, then remove the meat from the skillet.
  3. In the same skillet, on medium heat, add the onion and sauté until soft. Add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute (add a little bit of olive oil if the pan is dry). Add the meat back to the skillet along with the cream cheese, zucchini pulp and bread crumbs and stir until the cheese has melted. Taste and add salt and pepper or other seasonings as desired; fresh basil, oregano and parsley are nice.
  4. Place the zucchini boats on a small sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then fill with the meat mixture. Top with tomato halves and grated cheese.
  5. Place in oven and bake 25-30 minutes until the cheese melts and starts to brown. Garnish with basil.

zuc-tomatos