Smoked Mozzarella and Apple Bites

One of my New Years resolutions for 2010 was to go to the farmers market more often. I love the idea of supporting local businesses and reducing my carbon footprint by not purchasing produce that was shipped from thousands of miles away. There is a great market less than a mile from my place so I really have no excuses not to go. Unfortunately, the DC region was bombarded by the worst winter weather in history, so the first two months of my resolution did not go so well. Now that glorious, beautiful Spring is here, I am a regular at my neighborhood market, where everything sold must be grown or made within 100 miles.

A few visits ago, I got a ball of smoked mozzarella from a cheese stand that had such a delicious, smoky flavor. It reminded me of a crisp, Fall day, which gave me the idea to put it on an apple slice (also from the market). I topped it with a bit of fig jam and sprinkle of sea salt and I just fell in love with the flavor combination. It's now my favorite post-farmers market shopping snack.

Smoked Mozzarella and Apple Bites

apples (use a crisp variety - I like Fuji's) - thinly sliced
smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced
fig jam (this is sometimes hard to find in the supermarket - try apricot jam if you can't find it)
sea salt

Put a slice of the mozzarella on an apple slice and top with a spoonful of the jam, and sprinkle the top with sea salt.

Slow Cooker Thai Noodle Soup

I recently spent a long weekend in Charleston, SC with some of my best girlfriends from college. It was so great hanging out my old friends, who I miss dearly. I just haven't made friendships after college quite like the friendships I have with those girls. Anyways, I promised my friend Terri I would put this recipe up for her. She and I spent a lot of the weekend talking about food and cooking, and we have a mutual obsession with Thai food. This is an easy Thai soup to throw together in the slow cooker and it has all those wonderful Thai flavors, like ginger, lime, chili, and coconut. Terri, I hope you and Doug enjoy this recipe and I can't wait for our girls trip next year!

Slow Cooker Thai Noodle Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 bell peppers (any colors - I used a red and a green), chopped
4 ounces mushrooms (I got a variety pack of baby bella, shitake, and crimini)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp chili paste (see note #1)
13.5 ounce can coconut milk (see note #2)
4 cups chicken broth
3 limes, juiced
1 tsp lime zest
4 ounces rice noodles

Put everything except the noodles in the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours, until veggies are softened. You can also cook it on the stove top by sauteeing the onion, pepper, mushrooms, ginger, and garlic for about 10 minutes, then adding the remainder of the ingredients except the noodles and simmering on low heat for about 30 minutes. Before serving, add the rice noodles and allow them to soak until they are soft (the package should say how long this will take - mine took about 5 minutes).

Note #1: the chili paste is deceptively spicy. You can add more than 1/2 tsp if you like it spicy, but be careful, this stuff is potent! Add a tiny bit at a time and be sure to taste it.

Note #2: you can use regular coconut milk, or low fat if you are watching your fat intake. The regular stuff has a better flavor. The coconut flavor gets a little lost if you use the low fat.