Holiday Baking

So clearly the holiday spirit has got me to cook more new things. I LOVE to bake around the holidays, however I do not like to eat it. Today was the Winter Tea for my kids. It was a bit bittersweet because this was Blake's last Winter Tea in Elementary school. Maybe he'll be back in 4 years playing with the orchestra.

For the tea, the PTA provides the workers and the beverages (punch, tea & coffee) and parents bake up cookies (or stop by a store and pick up cookies). I have made sugar cookies and other holiday treats, but this year I made Butter Cookies. French Sables. You know, the cheap ones in the blue tin at Walgreens called "Danish Butter Cookies"? Fine. I love those cheap cookies.

A few months ago I was watching America's Test Kitchen (it's by Cooks Illustrated on PBS and it's like Good Eats, but less entertaining). They were making.... french sable butter cookies. The recipe called for one very odd ingredient.

One cooked egg yolk.

Yes, you read that right. Weird, I know. It's kind of hard to explain why, but it had to do with the moisture content that they were trying to achieve in the cookie. But anyway, it works! They tasted almost like the cookies in a tin, but my ingredients were local and organic (yay for Willy St Coop being so close!) and not from a tin baked months and months ago.

Because the recipe was on TV -- and on PBS no less -- I will share it with you. Seriously try it. It's an easy cookie recipe that gives great results.

Oh, and no pictures, sorry. All the cookies went to the tea. They are much better off there.

Makes about 40 cookies.   Published November 1, 2008.   From Cook's Illustrated.

Turbinado sugar is commonly sold as Sugar in the Raw. Demerara sugar, sanding sugar, or another coarse sugar can be substituted. Make sure the cookie dough is well chilled and firm so that it can be uniformly sliced. After the dough has been wrapped in parchment, it can be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredients

1	large egg
10	tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter , softened
1/3	cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 3/4 ounces)
1/4	teaspoon table salt
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)
1	teaspoon large egg white , lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
4	teaspoons turbinado sugar (see note)

Instructions

1. 1. Place egg in small saucepan, cover with 1 inch water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill small bowl with ice water. Using slotted spoon, transfer egg to ice water and let stand 5 minutes. Crack egg and peel shell. Separate yolk from white; discard white. Press yolk through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl.
2. 2. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula as needed. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla, and mix until incorporated. Stop mixer; add flour and mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass.
3. 3. Divide dough in half; roll each piece into log about 6 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in 12-inch square of parchment paper and twist ends to seal and firmly compact dough into tight cylinder (see illustrations below). Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
4. 4. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using chef’s knife, slice dough into ¼-inch-thick rounds, rotating dough so that it won’t become misshapen from weight of knife. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Using pastry brush, gently brush cookies with egg white mixture and sprinkle evenly with turbinado sugar.
5. 5. Bake until centers of cookies are pale golden brown with edges slightly darker than centers, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using thin metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Store cooled cookies between sheets of parchment paper in airtight container for up to 1 week.

International House of Pancakes

For my birthday my husband surprised me with a crepe pan. We had been talking about making crepes and I told him I needed a pan. He clearly listened! I am definitely not one to get offended about getting cooking things for my birthday. It only took a day or two for me to use it.

I think people don't make crepes much because they are intimidated by them. I mean, clearly, people like them. There are restaurants dedicated to them. At Disney, the crepe stand in EPCOT is always busy (and we always get them) yet how many people make them??

I found an easy recipe at Allrecipes.com, it got good reviews, so I figured I would give it a go. I did add some vanilla as some other people suggested. I would definitely only do this if they are dessert type crepes, and not savory. But seriously, it was easy! There is a saying I learned long long ago "“La premiere crepe est pour le chien." -- the 1st crepe is for the dog -- essentially that the 1st one is no good -- but I didn't even have that happen. Even the 1st was good. So, make some crepes!


Then, later that evening ....


I make potato pancakes (potato latkes). I had seen lots of posts and recipes about them since it's was Hanukkah last week. I won't pretend to know much about Hanukkah or about Kosher food, but I do know I like potato latkes. Just like the crepes these were pretty easy to make too. I searched the internet and found lots of recipes -- they were all the same. Grated potato (preferably Yukon Gold), egg, salt, pepper - I decided to add some garlic and rosemary. Well... it was suggested by an old friend who I worked with more than 10 years ago that HE wanted to make garlic rosemary pototo latkes. So, that's where the idea came from (thanks Serge!).


I used about 5 medium potatoes, 3 eggs (scrambled), some salt, some pepper,  2 large cloves of garlic and some dried rosemary. Fry in about 1/2" vegetable oil. It took about 2 minutes on each side. I served them with Daisy Light Sour cream. I LOVE sour cream, but try to get the light version. The Daisy Light is perfect. It doesn't taste bad like so many "light" sour creams - in fact - it tastes like real full fat sour cream. 






So, that was my night of international pancakes. Weird, but oh so good!

I want to go to New Mexico

While eating dinner tonight, I realized I want to go to the southwest -- not to GO there, but for the food. I LOVE southwestern food. When I visited Colorado last year I made sure to have some green chili -- it's just not something you find in the east. You reach a certain point, and foods change. Chiles, spices, cilantro, lime - it's all stuff I love. I know a few people who are from that area and the food just sounds perfect. Of course, I would never lose weight if I was out there -- so it definitely would need to be like a day visit or something quick!

Last night a friend from college posted that she was having white chicken chili. It sounded so good -- she even mentioned that her husband is from New Mexico and liked his food spicy. I found a recipe on Cooks Illustrated (it's my go to site for recipes since they don't really seem to fail). It is a pretty simple recipe -- the soup is almost entirely from scratch (the broth I did not make from scratch) and really didn't take that long too make. My version definitely had a kick to it. I didn't take the seeds or ribs out of the Anaheims or Poblanos  (I probably should have) and only left them in on one jalapeno. Next time I make it I might make it a little milder. Even though this was a "white chicken chili" it definitely felt like a green chili. A yummy southwestern food. Make it.

White Chicken Chili - From Cooks Illustrated

Adjust the heat in this dish by adding the minced ribs and seeds from the jalapeño as directed in step 6. If Anaheim chiles cannot be found, add an additional poblano and jalapeño to the chili. This dish can also be successfully made by substituting chicken thighs for the chicken breasts. If using thighs, increase the cooking time in step 4 to about 40 minutes. Serve chili with sour cream, tortilla chips, and lime wedges.

3	pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves , trimmed of excess fat and skin
1	tablespoon vegetable oil
3	medium jalapeño chiles
3	poblano chiles (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
3	Anaheim chile peppers (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
2	medium onions , cut into large pieces (2 cups)
6	medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1	tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2	teaspoons ground coriander
2	(14.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
3	cups low-sodium chicken broth
3	tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
1/4	cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
4	scallions , white and light green parts sliced thin

Instructions

1. 1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and lightly brown on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; remove and discard skin.
2. 2. While chicken is browning, remove and discard ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños; mince flesh. In food processor, process half of poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions until consistency of chunky salsa, ten to twelve 1-second pulses, scraping down sides of workbowl halfway through. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions; combine with first batch (do not wash food processor blade or workbowl).
3. 3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven (adding additional vegetable oil if necessary) and reduce heat to medium. Add minced jalapeños, chile-onion mixture, garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
4. 4. Transfer 1 cup cooked vegetable mixture to now-empty food processor workbowl. Add 1 cup beans and 1 cup broth and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vegetable-bean mixture, remaining 2 cups broth, and chicken breasts to Dutch oven and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers 160 degrees (175 degrees if using thighs) on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes (40 minutes if using thighs).
5. 5. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Stir in remaining beans and continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are heated through and chili has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
6. 6. Mince remaining jalapeño, reserving and mincing ribs and seeds (see note above), and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones. Stir shredded chicken, lime juice, cilantro, scallions, and remaining minced jalapeño (with seeds if desired) into chili and return to simmer. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.
   
   
   

A different Thanksgiving

 

This is my Thanksgiving Meal.

What's missing??

Yup. No Turkey.

There are 3 people in this house that eat meat, one of those BARELY does, so why should I buy a 12lbs turkey to over stuff ourselves? I shouldn't. One of the people in my house is a vegetarian, so why have a Turkey when we can join him for day? Another reason is that I ran a 5k this morning! Luckily everyone in the house had no issue with going vegetarian for this Thanksgiving day. Honestly, it's kind of nice. I do like turkey, and the one I make for Christmas will be even better. 

I wanted to share what I made for my Thanksgiving meal.

 

The "main dish" was Macaroni & Brie. This was posted on Facebook by my friend Serge. I worked with him back at MindSpring - back in the day - he's definitely a foodie and we seem to have similar tastes. It was a pretty easy recipe and I used some skills I hadn't used in years, such as making a roux and a bechamel sauce (sorry, I can't make the accent). 

I also made a wild rice dish suggested by a local veterinarian friend (she has her own blog -- http://veteranveterinarian.blogspot.com/ ) who took care of our sweet Pixie. It is a lemon infused rice dish. I used a rice mix from the new coop that included wild rice along with other varieties. I will admit I am not a huge fan of lemon flavors BUT it was the perfect compliment to the other dishes. It was like a refreshing change from the other dishes. It's pretty simple -

Lemon Pecan Wild Rice

3 cups chicken broth (I used vegetable Broth)
1 cup uncooked wild rice (I used the rice mix)
1 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 Tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1) In a large saucepan, bring the broth, rice and butter to a boil.
2) Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until rice
is tender.
3) Stir in the onions, parsley, lemon peel and juice.
4) Stir in pecans.
5) Chill for 1 hr before serving.

Serves 4-6 

I also made some stuffing -- from a box. As well as the "log" cranberry sauce.

Finally -- Carrots.  I made 2 versions. Herb Roasted -- olive oil, salt & herbs roasted. Very simple. And some "candied" carrots -- 4 tbsp butter mixed with 1/4 cup butter mixed together, poured over the carrots and roasted. This used to be a hit with the kids, but this year -- not so much. 

Oh, and I need to mention that the drink being served to all was sparkling apple cider from Trader Joes. No, the kids did not have wine! 

I had planned rolls, but failed to read the recipe from Cooks Illustrated that included "refrigerate for 24-48 hours" and "let rise for 6-7 hours". Yeah, damn Cooks Illustrated. I knew it couldn't be as easy as it seemed.

I have to admit that I didn't miss the turkey that much and it was really nice to have a "guilt free" Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Menu

So, I have decided what to have.
Here's my menu.
I will give you all an update on Thursday!

Macaroni & Brie (recipe posted by my friend Serge)
Wild Rice (hopefully a recipe courtesy of my veterinarian friend who cared for Pixie cat)
Cranberry Sauce (nothing special here)
Roast Carrots (my standard roasedt root veggie mix)
Stuffing (nothing special)
Rolls (haven't decided on the specifics yet)









It all sounds so good! I can't wait to make it!

Comfort Food and Holiday Ramblings

One of my old standbys, and forgive me if I have posted this before, is roasted vegetables. Total comfort food in the fall. It's my "go to meal" (yes, meal). I just throw in some veggies (usually root vegetables) drizzling some Olive Oil (EVOO, if you may), some kosher salt and toss in some garlic for flavor (sometimes rosemary too). I usually roast carrots, potatoes, onions etc... this way. Roasting them around 375 degrees seems to pull out the sweetness. When the ends turn brown and start to carmelize, you know they are perfect. I also made some butternut squash this way last night and it was so good. I wish I had made more. I seriously couldn't stop eating it. Never thought I would say that about butternut squash.

As I mentioned previously, I haven't really been cooking many new things. My recent meals have been a lot of the same old same old. I love French Onion Soup. And I love Chili. I am hoping as the holiday time arrives, I will add some new recipes to my rotation. And that bring me to this....

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am facing a dilemma. It's just me David & the kids, and one of the kids is a vegetarian, so a "tradional" Thanksgiving meal just doesn't seem appropriate. I have also lost ALMOST 30lbs in the last year and a half (well, if we must be exact, 27), so I don't want to over indulge. Additionally, I am running my second 5k that morning, so coming home to a huge turkey and butter laden foods seem counter productive. We have entertained the idea of going out, but I still want to cook. I was thinking of going vegetarian with our Thanksgiving meal in a way to attempt to eat better. I don't want the Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes (as good as they are, I need to pass on the whole bar of cream cheese, plus a stick of butter) and I definitely don't need a 12lbs turkey.

What should I make?

I was thinking some of the delicious roasted butternut squash that I mentioned above, perhaps some wild rice, some cranberry sauce. Any ideas or suggestions for me? Please share!

Soup is good food

I have soup recipes for you. No pictures, but believe me, both are great! Here in Wisconsin (and nearly everywhere I think) it's been cool and breezy. Throw in some rain, and it's a perfect day for soup. I love making hearty soup when it's cool out. On Monday, I had a delicious lunch at an Indian Buffet, so I needed something light for dinner. I opted for 0 Point Soup. Perhaps I am outing myself here, but 0 Point Soup is a Weight Watchers meal. Without going into too much depth, foods are given points and you eat a certain amount. 0 Point Soup is essentially broth with veggies in it - 0 point veggies (no starches like potatoes, legumes, corn etc). It can be adjusted based on your tastes. Here's how I made my 0 Point Soup:

1 onion (carmelized, yummy!)
3 or 4 carrots (from my garden!)
~48 oz low sodium chicken broth
2 daikon radishes (also from my garden)
4 leaves of kale
a few leaves of Napa Cabbage
Tuscan Sunset seasoning

I caramelized the onions and then added the carrots & radish to cook a little. Then added the broth, the rest of the veggies and seasoning - then simmered for about 20 mins. It's a great filling, vegetable soup. If you need a little extra, some bread to go along side, doesn't hurt -- too much!

My 2nd soup is one I spotted a few weeks ago. It's from The Pioneer woman and is Corn Chowder with Chiles. I had been waiting and waiting to make this. Today was the day.

Recipe: Corn Chowder with Chilies

Prep Time: 10 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 20 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 8

Print Recipe 3"x5" Cards 4"x6" Cards Full Page

Ingredients

• 2 slices Bacon, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces (or Smaller)
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1-½ whole Yellow Onion, Diced
• 5 ears Corn, Shucked (about 4 Cups)
• 2 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce, Finely Diced
• 1 whole 4-ounce Can Diced Green Chilies
• 32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1-½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt (more To Taste)
• 3 Tablespoons Corn Meal OR Masa
• ¼ cups Water

Preparation Instructions

(Carefully) slice the corn kernels off the cob. Set aside.
Add bacon pieces to a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook for a couple of minutes. Throw in diced onion and stir, cooking the onion for 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter and melt. Add corn. Stir and cook for one minute. Add both kinds of chilies and stir.
Pour in chicken broth and cream. Add salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.
Combine cornmeal (or masa) with water. Stir to combine, then pour into the chowder. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. If chowder needs more thickening, add another tablespoon of cornmeal mixed with water. Cook for another ten minutes.
Serve with crusty sourdough bread or in a bread bowl. Absolutely yummy!

Now, based on the 1st soup, you can probably guess I made a few adjustments. I did not use heavy cream -- I went with half and half. My cream soups tend to separate - I don't know why - but this one was no exception. It's still good, it just doesn't look as creamy as the picture. I will blame it on the half and half.  Oh, and also only used 1 tbsp of butter. Otherwise, I made it as is and I did the nutritional calculations and it really wasn't that evil of a soup. I did limit myself to one serving. I will have more later!

Fall Cooking

There's something about the fall that inspires me to cook and bake. It's probably the scents that come with the fall - cinnamon and apples and such.

Every Monday night over the summer, our neighbor has held an informal kickball game at our local park (one of them - there's about 3 within walking distance). The nice thing about this park is that it is very central to our neighborhood and one of our good friends even lives on the park (yup... it's basically their backyard). This past Monday was the last kickball of the year. I will miss it a lot - it was a great way to get to know neighbors and know the kids. The best thing I saw this week was my son running up to another boy who was in his grade last year, but is now home schooled, and telling him how happy he was to see him. It warmed my heart.

Anyway -- food. Food was a big part of these nights. Some nights, people went to the store and bought a pack of cookies, but usually people made something. This week there was a great pasta with homemade organic pesto, and some cornbread (which was good - very sweet - but very good!) and lots of other things. Sometimes when I brought things, it was barely touched - other weeks - I had a decent amount of left overs. However, this week was an exception. I made some pumpkin bread. I had a prized can of pumpkin - which is apparently high in demand until the people in Central Illinois get this years crop canned - that I used for this bread. I wanted to make a spread to go with it so I sought out a recipe that did not use the whole can. I found this one at simplyrecipes.com . I liked that it used 1 cup of pumpkin puree and I thought it was cool that it used olive oil! I tend to shy away from recipes that get the bulk of the fat from vegetable oil - I'd rather get some flavor with my fat through butter, thank you very much! Olive oil is delicious. I figured this would add a nice earthy taste to the bread.

Now, I am not a big pumpkin bread eater, but I tasted it and liked it. The best thing was that the entire loaf was gone after kick ball!! Since I made it in the afternoon, I turned the oven off a little before it was completely baked and left the loaf in to stay warm. I think this is what made it so appealing.

I wish I had some pictures of the delicious bread, but I don't I assumed that I would have some later. Surprisingly enough my son loved it. He was hesitant, but is asking now when I will make more! I better find some pumpkin, huh?

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (1/4 L) pumpkin purée*
1/2 cup (1 dL) olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped walnuts
* To make pumpkin purée, cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast or boil them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.
(or you can be like me and go by Libby's canned pumpkin!)

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.
2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.
3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.
Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.

Everything Apple

The last few months I haven't felt very inspired to tell you about my cooking. I don't know if it's because it's summer, but I just haven't felt like anything I made was very interesting. The fall makes me want to cook. I made Ratatouille last week. Chili another night, and banana bread yesterday. These were all recipes I have shared before, so there was no reason to post anything again.

However, today we went apple picking. We always go apple picking at the Eplegaarden in Fitchburg, WI. We went there the very 1st year that we were here. Or at least I think it was the 1st year - maybe it wasn't. It doesn't really matter. It's a great place no matter how many times we have been.

It's always odd to go and get these massive amounts of apples because I really don't like cooked fruit - even apples. It's always a challenge to figure out what to do with ALL those apples. My kids, however do like cooked fruit, so I figure out a way.

I decided to make cinnamon apples for them. It's easy and very much a fall recipe.

After apple picking, I pulled out my crock pot and peels and sliced about 8 apples (Blake does NOT like cinnamon apples with the peel, so this is a must for us). We picked a variety of apples so I couldn't really tell you what type I used - I know it wasn't red delicious - probably more like Redmax or Gala's mostly. We picked those as well as Spartan's and the Red Delicious.

About halfway through slicing and putting the apples in the crock pot, I put about 2 tbsp of butter as well as some sugar - about 2tbsp of raw unrefined and 1tbsp of brown sugar -- and a lot of cinnamon. I don't really know how much, but maybe about a tablespoon.

I continued slicing up the apples and then after I was done I added about the same to the top -- although it was probably less cinnamon and a little more sugar.

I supposed I should measure this stuff out. Sorry 'bout that.

They cooked for about 4 hours. I opened up the crock pot and stirred to get all the good juice all over the apples. I also couldn't help  but think these would be incredible with some ice cream on them. I have to admit that although I am not a big fan of mushy apples, I had to try them since they smelled so good and they were pretty decent. I didn't want to eat a whole bowl or anything, but I could see why the kids liked them.

After dinner my kids declared that these apples were better than any they'd had before. I'd like to think it was my whipped up recipe for the apples, but I suspect most of the credit goes to Eplegaarden for growing such fantastic apples.

Stay tuned for a few more apple ideas later this week. I promise.

Finally....

you may have noticed a change or 2 to the site. I have indeed changed the name. My focus has moved away from not dining out, to just cooking from scratch and cooking well. So, I changed it. Nothing big. Just me and my recipes and hopfully Hx will share some of her fall Colorado cookin' with us too. No pressure, Hx.

Cucumber & Tomato Side Salad

My favorite side salad for a long time has been Noodles' cucumber tomato side salad. I love to get a small dish of Noodles and the salad for a meal. I have always wished you could get this salad as part of the "Trio", but the don't allow it. Since my garden is producing a TON of tomatoes and LOTS of cucumbers, this seemed like a no brainer. A few weeks ago I asked Hx if she had tried it and if she had any thoughts of what was made from. May sound silly - cucumber & tomatoes, right? Right and wrong. It's cucumber, tomatoes and red onions, but then they put a vinegar based dressing on it and sprinkle with sesame seeds and a seasoning. The vinegar was the mystery though. It wasn't red wine, it wasn't just rice  hx suggested champagne, but I couldn't find that. (I also didn't look hard).

Faced with a mountain of cucumbers I decided it was time. I opened the red wine vinegar and knew it wasn't right. The dressing was definitely a "brownish" - not red. I had the rice vinegar (I have about 4 or 5 different vinegars at any given time) and decided to get wild and crazy and mix it! It worked. I think it's pretty darn close. I decided to add just a dash of kosher salt and not add any seasoning when done - if I had to guess I would go with a paprika mix with salt. I don't really need the salt though.

So my basic receipe for this is as follows :

1 cut cucumber (halved or quartered and peeled)
4 roma tomatoes (halved or quartered)
1/2 medium red onion
a little over 1/3 cup rice vinegar
enough red wine vinegar to fill it up to 1/2 cup
1 tbs sugar (I used organic cane)

Mix the vinegars and sugar together. Pour over the veggies just prior to serving.

Just like the rat made

Ratatouille!

I had this back in the spring at Disney (get it... the movie ratatouille and they MADE ratatouille?!) I had it at the Crystal Palace which had excellent food. My husband had it and didn't even believe me that eggplant was in it - it was that good. I wanted to find the Disney recipe, but never did. Since all the ingredients are in season, I decided it was time to make it.

I selected a fairly easy recipe - Rachael Rays. You can find it here - Ratatouille. It's actually very, very easy to make - even without a chefs hat and a rat hidden underneath. The only think I would do different is to make more sauce and perhaps a little thinner - perhaps adding more EVOO to the sauce.

Theorietically my garden should be able to produce all these veggies, with the exception of garlic. So, this really could be a home grown dish. Sadly, my garden has been somewhat angry at me and hasn't given me squash yet. Perhaps soon though... perhaps soon.

In the meantime, eat your veggies and make some ratatouille!

Weirdest. Dinner. Ever.

With all the summer goodness, I can't decide what I want. Many of our meals are just "grazing" - grabbing something yummy and eating. This might be fruit, or fresh veggies or what ever. My meals are definitely a little more low key. On Saturday, I went to the Madison Farmers Market for the 1st time this season. I am usually a regular down there, but between working and swim meets, I hadn't gotten down yet. I of course chose a busy, busy day - the 3rd of July - and a peak time - around 10am - to go. It was crowded! BUT I picked up a few great things. Much to my surprise they already had Door County Cherries! I also got a few herb plants at a great price since it's time for the nurseries to move them out. I also picked up some potatoes. They were small potatoes. I wasn't sure what to do with them.
Then it hit me!
SALT POTATOES!

They are a specialty from UpState NY where my husband is from. They are a summer staple - you will find them at fairs and local/regional events. They are simple - salt, water, butter - YUM! I did find a recipe on the NY Times site - but you really don't need one. About a cup of salt to 8 cups of water is what I used. I mixed Kosher and Pacific Sea salt because I was almost out of Kosher! Let them cook until tender. Because of the high temps, the potatoes get nice and creamy. It's hard to explain. After draining, add some butter and let it melt. The potatoes should just soak in the butter now. I added about 1/4 cup butter. Then - eat! David said that the potatoes at the Fairs look different - they are all wrinkled up - probably from spending hours cooking in salt water.  I am growing potatoes in my community garden plot and have all intentioned of making many of my potatoes from there into salt potatoes!

Here's a little blurb from Wikipedia as to why they came about up in the Syracuse area.

"The Syracuse, New York area has a long history of salt production. Salt springs located around Onondaga lake were used to create consumable salt that was distributed throughout the northeast via the Erie Canal. Salinated water was laid out to dry on large trays. The salt residue was then scraped up, ground, and packaged. Salt potatoes were created in the nineteenth century by Irish immigrants working the springs who cooked their potatoes in the salty brine."


So... why was the weirdest dinner ever?? Because I had bought pineapple the say before with the intention of grilling it. I think I have mentioned before that I HATE cooked fruit - jams, jellies, pies, YUCK! However.... grilled pineapple. Oh my heavens, it's so... so... fantastic. Love it. So, to go with my potatoes I grilled pinapple. Sounds logical to me, right? No matter what you might think, my plate was like a little piece of heaven. 

Tried & True -- but time to try something new

Up until now, I had one banana bread recipe that I always used. It was ripped from a bag of bulk ripen bananas that I got once at the store -- you know -- the paper bag with a handle that has random single bananas that the store is selling at a discount to get rid of. It worked well... I didn't quite have it memorized, but remember the basic ingredients. Today I went to make banana bread for the neighborhood kickball that happens most Monday evenings and I couldn't find it! I used handy dandy google to help me. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that resembled my favorite - but wasn't exactly. The biggest difference was the use of brown sugar as opposed to white sugar. There was also a measurement for the bananas as opposed to quantity. I decided to give it a go.

Well... I am thrilled to tell you I have a NEW tried & true banana bread recipe. It was so good... so moist and yummy. I did add some vanilla to it - as well as some chocolate (milk chocolate - it was all I had). 

Banana Banana Bread

Prep Time:
15 Min

Cook Time:
1 Hr 5 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr 20 Min

Servings  (Help)

 Original Recipe Yield 1 - 9x5 inch loaf

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Back to the Blog

Yikes! It's been more than a month since I posted ANYTHING. To tell you the truth, I haven't really been making tons of dishes. I am not sure why, but my meals have been more about grazing. Not really dining out at all... which feels great... but instead of planning big ornate meals, I just open the fridge and see what's there. Sometimes dinner consisted of watermelon, cantaloupe and a pita sandwich. Nothing really to blog about. I love summer food, but it's been very simplistic lately.

But now that my community garden plot is about to start producing some veggies, and the farmers markets are staring to brim with seasonal goodies, I am starting to feel a bit more inspired. I still think my recipes will be simpler during the summer, but isn't that what summer is all about?

I do want to restart with an ice cream recipe.

I got an ice cream maker probably about 6 or 7 years ago. I never made a decent batch, until now. Either it was too icy or one time it had bits of egg (I was making a custard and I guess I didn't temper the egg properly and/or I didn't strain it). It was awful. Now that I have my handy Cooks Illustrated membership, I decided to see if one of their recipes would redeem my ice cream making track record. It did. I try to find local cream and milk as well as local eggs. It really makes for good fresh ice cream. The 1st time I made it I made a chocolate version which was really quite the main in my rear. I think I used nearly every bowl I had - there were that many steps. From now on, I am sticking with vanilla. It's easy, straight forward  and I can top it with chocolate if I need to. I even use fresh strawberries on top as well (not cooked! FRESH!) and it's delicious! Here's the receipe from Cooks Illustrated. Again, I cannot reiterate enough how much the membership to the site is worth.

Cooks Illustrated Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart.   Published July 1, 1993.  

If necessary, two teaspoons of vanilla extract may be substituted for the vanilla bean. To maximize the extract’s potency, stir it into the chilled custard just before churning.

Ingredients

1 1/2	cups whole milk
1 1/2	cups heavy cream
3/4	cup granulated sugar
4	inch piece vanilla bean , slit lengthwise and seeds removed, pod reserved (see illustration below)
4	large egg yolks

Instructions

1. 1. Position a strainer over a medium bowl set in a larger bowl containing ice water. Heat the milk, cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the vanilla seeds and pod in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally to break up the vanilla seeds, until steam appears and the milk is warm (about 175 degrees), about 5 minutes.
2. 2. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl until combined and pale yellow. Whisk half the warm milk mixture into the beaten yolks, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined. Whisk the milk-yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan; set the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam appears, foam subsides, and the mixture is slightly thickened or an instant-read thermometer registers 180 to 185 degrees. (Do not boil the mixture, or the eggs will curdle.) Immediately strain the custard into the bowl set in the ice bath; cool the custard to room temperature, stirring it occasionally to help it cool. Cover and refrigerate until an instant-read thermometer -registers 40 degrees or lower, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
3. 3. Remove and discard the vanilla pod from the custard (or add the vanilla extract, if using) and stir well. Pour the custard into the ice cream machine canister and churn, following the manufacturer’s instructions, until the mixture resembles soft-serve ice cream. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, press plastic wrap flush against the surface, cover the container, and freeze the ice cream until firm, at least 2 hours. (The ice cream will keep for up to 2 days.)

Hittin the Motherload

Last weekend was Mother's Day. A few years ago, my favorite mom moved away from her favorite daughter (sniff). As her only human child (there are furry ones as well), this holiday is starred, highlighted, bold and set up with both 1- and 2-week reminders on my calendar so that I don't miss it (this is why I'm her favorite daughter -- lucky her). Babs also has the same situation with her lovely and sweet mother (Hi Mrs. Robinson!). We only-children with single parents have a lot of pressure and guilt (and we understand how important it is), so we try and do our best. It helps that we have awesome moms.

Anyway, my mom has a food itch like I've never known. Most sweets and desserts just don't cut it. No pie, no cake, no cobblers or cookies. No no.. Chocolate *only* please. She's not just any average chocoholic. If it doesn't include DARK CHOCOLATE, then she puts down her eating utensil and steps away from the table. It's just not worth it. And it HAS to be dark chocolate. Milk and whatever that "white" stuff claims to be (puh-lease) is just not good enough. As one who likes to cook, I know that I better make the dessert with dark chocolate unless I plan on eating alone.

Lucky for her, she makes this so well known to everyone (she's not much of a hinter), that I decided to bake up some Chewy Brownies (uncopyrighted free version) for Mother's Day to send to her. This recipe has been twice recommended to me, even from a source who claims to be 'picky about my chocolate.' Well, ok then. Plus, it's a Cooks recipe, so I have a fairly good chance of success. And they are SO FREAKING GOOD and easy to make (hellllooo sugar!) that I'll definitely be making these again.

I also decided to make some sugar scrub labeled as Gardener's Soap. Fun and easy. I sent that along with a pretty silver spoon with the word 'mom' inscribed on it.

Oh, and one more thing was in that big box o' love. A rag rug I crocheted from fabric to match her new red decor kitchen. Now this one took a long time to make and I butted up against the mail deadline a little too close for comfort (the night before I had to send it). However, I think it looks great and was worth all the effort. Even Rob ripped some of the fabric strips for me. Colby made sure many of the fabric balls had a loop or two around the living room (in his mouth), and even the cat took a nap atop it. What a great gift. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

We need to get some Alfredo Cheese

One meal I forgot to tell you about that I made while the family was here was my Alfredo Pasta. I had never made Alfredo sauce from scratch, but it seemed easy enough. In the process of gathering my ingredients, my dear husband said something that made me realize that all of us cook from cans too much.

He said we need to get some Alfredo cheese.

Now, I am NOT making fun of him. I am NOT laughing at this statement. Up until this point pasta Alfredo came from restaurants or a can - not homemade. The fact that he didn't know that it wasn't made from "alfredo cheese" just shows that we rely too much on other people to make our food. It's not his fault that up until now our Alfredo mainly came from Olive Garden or Ragu.

I found a VERY simple recipe for Alfredo Sauce on Recipezaar.com . Now, I won't fool you into thinking that this was a "healthy" recipe. Butter, cream & cheese. Yeah, not health food - but - it was DARN good and actually easy. WTH would you buy it from a can? 'Cause it's easier?? No, there's not too much easier than this. It tastes better? No way... there's enough fat to make this exceptionally decadent.

Sorry I have no pictures. But you must make it yourself.  Trust me.

El Diablo

My husband and I like spicy food.

No, really, we LOVE spicy food.

We also love Tortilla Soup.

On Wednesday this year, Cinco de Mayo, I had a grand plan to make some yummy cilantro lime tacos - even making the tortillas from scratch!! However,  back in January about my sweet little cat got sick. She's been holding her own, but this week did it again. She wasn't really that sick, just not eating much - which had us worried. We didn't get great news, but that's another post. My point is that my Cinco de Mayo was not a day of celebration. It stunk, actually.

So today, since I wasn't working, I had another grand plan. Make the tacos. But it was rainy. And it was cold. And it was a soup day. So I had a change of plans ... chicken tortilla soup. I had most of the ingredients. The only thing I didn't have seemed simple enough - chiles in adobo. I've seen them many times. Only today, I couldn't find them. I went to my friendly neighborhood store and all the "hispanic" goods consisted of endless jars of salsa, a few cans of enchilada sauce and a few cans of green chiles. Very disappointing. I found myself heading off to Whole Foods where I KNEW they would have them - and they did. They weren't exotic or organic or really unusual. Why didn't the store down the street have them?? Very annoying.

Anyway, so I had all my ingredients including the chiles. I was a little generous with the chiles. Perhaps a tad too generous. It was good. but it was also VERY spicy. Almost TOO much, which is a lot for me. But I liked it. It made eating it a challenge. We called it... El Diablo.

Also very filling since I needed 4 or 5 glasses of water to go along with it!

Want the recipe ?! It's a Cooks Illustrated recipe. I can't tell you how much I recommend subscribing if you are a dedicated home cook. But if you REALLY don't want to pay for it, here's someone who broke the rules and posted this yummy tortilla soup recipe. (oh, and I added corn. Both David and I felt it needed corn. I don't know why. It just did.)

No more cans!

... continuing with the story of having many people stay in my house, I decided to make a meal that that was easy, and I knew people liked. Of course, my vegetarian child wouldn't like it, but that's ok - he got a veggie burger. I opted for Sloppy Joes and Potato Salad. Nothing fancy by any means, but GOOD! The Sloppy Joes were from a recipe on Martha Stewart. Now sure how/why I found it, but it was from scratch - for the most part. It was pretty fast. It was VERY easy. It made me wonder why ANYONE would by sloppy joe stuff in a can. But that's just me, of course!

So, the side dish was potato salad. I have made it before but it was always missing something. I signed up for Cooks Illustrated a few months back, and their recipes are pretty tried and true. Like Hx mentioned before, their site is a pay site, but here's a link to Recipe Zaar that apparently has the same recipe I used. I did use red wine vinegar instead of white. It was SOOO good! Why in the world would I buy it from a deli. I am truly falling in love with cooking from scratch! I look forward to trying new receipes and seeing how great things are when they are made without using cans & premade stuff.

This summer I am growing some tomato varieties that are specific for making sauces. Can you guess what I am going to be making from scratch this summer???

Trying to Please a Crowd

Over the last 2 weeks or so, I had 3 extra guests staying with us. It's not a lot more, but it's 3 adults AND when you are trying not to dine out much, it's hard. My goal when my mom and in laws are here is  to not go out much at all. It gets very expensive with 7 people, so I TRY to cook for everyone. I must admit that I get tired - I am working and running errands and sometimes it's a real challenge. That's mainly why I haven't blogged about the recipes yet. I am probably going to post a few times today catching up on what I made the last 2 weeks!

One of the 1st things that comes to mind is the Vegetable Lo Mein I made for everyone. I chose
this specifically because it was fairly easy, fed LOTS of people and sounded good! I did double the recipe in order to have it feed everyone. I found the recipe on the App on my iPod for Whole Foods. I love the App for recipes because it gives me lots of ideas that are unique and different from other sites that I use. I was shocked that everyone ate it all! There was pretty much nothing left.

Green Party

Today was my son's birthday party. We decided to be low key and have it at the house. Last year, he had a great party at a bowling alley, but that a lot. This year, it was at our home and he had a few kids over. A few weeks ago, I bought the disposable plates, silverware & cups for the party. Instead of buying plastic, I bought these, from Alice.com. The items are sustainable because they are made from corn starch or from cane sugar fiber! They are also compostable. Sadly, I don't have a composter yet - which I need. How cool would it have been to have thrown all the stuff into the compost?!

Anyway... for my sons cake - I made everything from scratch. I would I could share the recipes, but they were from Cooks Illustrated. They are a subscription service, which I totally recommend. I made a checkerboard cake which used the recipes of a fluffy yellow cake and a chocolate cake. The butter cream was my standard butter cream recipe that I mentioned a little while ago.

I must confess that I did use pre made fondant from Wilton. If I had had time, I would try making my own... I just didn't have the time. The decorations weren't really meant to be eaten -- the cake & the butter cream were the star of the show.

I as thrilled to use sustainable goods at the party & to make ALMOST all the cake from scratch!

How to exercise and cook all at once!

I had the brilliant idea to make homemade pasta on Wednesday night. It's really not complicated at all. In the past when I made it I had a pasta maker - and now I understand why. Pasta is really fairly simple - flour, salt, eggs & olive oil. That's about it. It only took about 5 minutes using my Kitchen Aid - and another 5 to knead. For the filling, I decided on a cheese filling so my vegetarian would eat it - ricotta, italian spices, egg, wilted spinach and some parm all mixed up together. Again... nothing complicated.

Then the hard part start. Rolling it out. Wow. That stuff is tough. I would definitely recommend a pasta dough roller if you are planning on making thin pasta. It took me a good 10 minutes to get it thin enough to be decent. The good news is that eventually it worked, the bad news, I was beat.

However, the best thing was that my children LOVED it! Oh my gosh, I was thrilled!!! Handmade, homemade pasta that everyone ate! I didn't cover it in sauce --- just a little fresh olive oil and parm. Yum-O!

Occasionally Dining Out...

I realize the title of this blog is "No More Dining Out"... but yes, I admit that we do occasionally go out. But it's changed from what it used to be. 6 months ago, when I was tired, I simply grabbed the kids and went to the local mexican joint. We rarely did fast food - it helps to have a vegetarian - fast food joints aren't really veg friendly at all - but we would go to local places and chains, more often than not.

But, since I started this, it's changed - a lot. We are lucky if we go out once a week. Now, if I am tired and don't want to cook, I simply look in the fridge and see what can go in a skillet and sauteed or even make an omlet (which ends up being more of a scramble than an omelet, but that's another story).

However, on Saturday night my son had a friend over and I know kids like pizza. Sometimes it is just easier to order pizza. Let me tell you a story of the last time I got take out pizza....

After working and feeling kind of lethargic all day, we decided to go to a cheap chain pizza place. In retrospect, this was a very bad choice. It was heavy & greasy and (gosh, it turns my stomach now to even think about it) to be honest, it was kind of gross. I sat down to watch a movie with the family (Ponyo... which I never even saw the end of!).  To make a long story short, the pizza didn't sit well in my stomach (I don't know if it was coincidental or if it was the 'plague' that went around my place of employment). I am basically DONE with chain pizzas now.

So, back to my story about dining out...

I wanted to get pizza for the boys, but I didn't not want 'cheap chain' pizza. I decided on a place just a few blocks from Bloom, where I work, that coincidentally has the same thoughts towards local/organic that Bloom does - Roman Candle Pizza. Here's what I found on their  menu:

'At the Roman Candle you will find fresh, locally sourced and, when available, organic
ingredients. We are a neighborhood pizzeria driven by sustainable community involvement.'

Sounded great!!!

I have picky kids (but you knew that already) so I ordered 3 small pizzas. A cheese, a pepperoni (which I MEANT to get sausage) and the Animal Lovers (veggie). When I went to pick it up, I took my daughter, ran into a friends husband and chatted with him, dropped the pizzas in the car and then walked over to Bloom Bake Shop for some desserts for the kiddos.

It felt good. It felt like a community. So even though I wasn't cooking at home, I was contributing money to local restaurants, enjoying a great evening with my daughter and seeing people in my area. Oh yeah, and not eating overly greasy pizza that made me sick last time and really, it not good at all for you.

Nasi Goreng

I Googled Nasi Goreng, just to see what I would find. I know it as a Dutch/Indonesian dish. My mother in law brings me spice mixes from Dutch Stores. I can't read the ingredients or the instructions, but I do know it's darn good. This was the what I found on Indochef.com .

"Nasi Goreng, Indonesian fried rice. This dish can be enjoyed by itself or as the basis of a larger meal, for example with a rijsttafel. It is very easy to make and won't take more than 20 minutes to prepare."

 Read more: http://www.indochef.com/indo_23.shtml#ixzz0lOKDL3gQ - the recipe is also found on this page.

My basic recipe involves Conimex spices, Ketjap Manis & Sambal Oeleck. 

For Nasi, I start with some leeks and onions and saute - I do this while  my rice cookes Then I cook the meat - I believe it's traditionally pork but this night I did chicken. Finally, I scramble an egg or 2. Once it's all done, I put it all together! Yes, it's similiar to chinese Fried Rice - but it's got more pizazz. More spice.  The ketjap islike a soy sauce, but it's thicker and not nearly as salty. It's hard to describe. It's very good, actually. Finally, I mixed in the sambal. Usually it's Oeleck, but this time, direct from the Netherlands, we got Sambal Brandal. A little spicier! Just the way I like it.

 

 

Yummy Yellow Rice Salad with a Kick

I love salads composed of rice, beans and/or pasta. My brain thinks I'm eating a healthy salad and my stomach is happy because it's actually FULL (unlike those salads with pitiful greens). For today's overcast / cloudy lunch, Rob and I whipped up a very bright and sunny Yellow Rice Salad with Roasted Peppers and Spicy Black Beans from Bon Appetit. It's good. REALLY GOOD.



I didn't realize it until I started collaborating on this blog, but I clearly have some cooking themes. Cilantro shows up A LOT. Lime Juice -- ditto. Cumin is also one of my favorite flavorings and I'm rather surprised that I haven't grown tired of it. This recipe is no exception. I had to add more roasted red peppers (shucks) to make up for the lack of green bell pepper, but it wasn't missed.

Eggplant, the other white-fleshy meat

Rob finally admitted to me the other night that he really doesn't like eggplant. I was holding two beautiful shiny purple globes in my hand, ready to be sliced, when he announced it. "In fact," he said, "I kind of hate it. Sorry." It was heartbreaking to hear from the person that I cook for the most.

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that people tend to love or hate -- that firm consistency and it's an unusual looking veg, that's for sure. But I think that's why I adore it -- it's like the underdog of vegs. I feel like I cook with it just to introduce it's 'other yummy side' to people who are initially turned off by it.

The good news is that I think I've figured out how to include it in meals so that Rob (and others, and you know who you are) might eat them. I hide them with other deliciousness. Pasta Salad with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Basil from Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling and BBQ is one way to do this. The eggplant was grilled, fresh tomatoes and basil added to a large warm pot of pasta and sauce. Rob loved it (really). He even scarfed down the leftovers for lunch the next day. My heart has healed. I realize that Cooks online recipes are subscription-only, so I also found a free pirated version (tsk tsk).

Corn Never Had It So Good

It's not corn season yet, so the frozen bagged version usually needs a little help (i.e., love) to coax out it's best qualities. Pair it with a spicy, salty salad and voila, corn-yum. Granted, once you add avocado, lime juice, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro you barely notice those cute yellow kernals, but it's all good.

I've tasted *other* black bean and corn salads... as there are many varieties. But this one has avocado. Who doesn't love avocado? Plus, this one also has a lime dressing.... mmmmm limey.... So this one is my favorite and I've made it enough times to know that it's also the favorite of many.
Black Bean and Corn Salad II from AllRecipes.com

So this past Saturday our neighbors (very kitchen-experienced) invited us and another set of neighbors (also very kitchen-saavy) over for dinner. After a delicious appetizer of spinach/artichoke dip and crusty french bread, we had a feast that included a beefy rib roast and cheesy scalloped potatoes. They were so so so tasty (naturally).

After much wine and bizarre discussions, we were pretty happy.

And then we had fresh berry handpies. Yes, perfect little pies that fit in your hand. Is there anything better than that?

Total Success

Today was meat free Monday, so I wanted to make something unique and tasty - but vegetarian. After a trip to Trader Joe's I decided on veggie tacos. Here's what made up our veggie taco bar:

Flour Tortillas
"Mexican" shredded cheese
Cilantro Lime Basmati Brown Rice (say that 3 times in a row!)
Light Sour Cream
Lettuce
"Fried" onions and red peppers (basically sauteed in olive oil fast and hot)
Corn & Black Bean Salsa.

Everyone loved it. I was so happy! No one complained, everyone got what they wanted. It's was bliss. (sorry I have no pictures, the food flew by!)

Let me tell you about 2 main ingredients listed above -- the Cilantro Lime Basmati Brown Rice and the Corn & Black Bean Salsa.

The rice come from the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Cook Book. He has a recipe for "perfect" rice. I will admit right now, I didn't follow it. His recipe involves washing the rice, put it in boiling water, draining it and putting more water in. I have had difficulty with rice. I needed measurements. You won't hear me say that often. I stuck with the instructions on the bag - 2 cups water, 1 cup washed rice - and ran with it. It was perfect enough for me - given my past rice incidents. After cooking the rice I added zest from one lime, a bunch of chopped cilantro, lime juice from the zested lime and a little olive oil. Great. Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE loved it. Phew....

One more thing about rice. I always used brown. I see no reason for white - honestly. Brown rice still has the bran and SOME nutrients. White rice is just filler. I will always use brown when possible.

Corn & Black Bean Salsa. I love Salsa. I love love love salsa. In fact, I love it so much, much of my garden this summer is dedicated to growing the ingredients for salsa. I like it on chips. I like it on tacos. I love it on eggs. It's like the perfect condiment. I love traditional tomato salsa, I love tomatillo salsa. I love Corn & Black Bean Salsa. How much does it normally cost? Buy a jar for $4 usually. Did you know you can make like 5 jars worth for $4??? Yes! you can! Here's what I did.

Take these ingrediants and throw them in a large-ish bowl

1 Bag Frozen Sweet Corn (or I like the roasted smoky flavor frozen corn from Trader Joe's)
1 Can of Black beans, drained & rinsed well
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes (I like the ones that have chiles or spice added already)
lots of chopped cilantro
Salt
Pepper
Juice from one lime
Heat as desired (ie jalepenos, habeneros etc. I went mild since I thought the kids might eat it)

Let the flavors blend for a while. Since the corn is frozen, I leave it out for a few hours to defrost, then put it in the fridge for storing. Great cheap tasty snack. Take it to parties or eat at home! Of course, my mind was reeling with the thoughts of using all fresh stuff this summer.

Back to the Pioneer Woman's Recipes!

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and had it on my "to do " list. It's fairly easy, doesn't take too long and is darn tasty. My choice for a Sunday dinner after working for 5 hours (yeah, I know, not long) was Chicken Parm.

I made a few changes to her recipe - but the heart of it was the same. Namely, I didn't use 1/2 cup olive oil! That's WAY too much. I only used the olive oil when cooking the chicken - instead of butter. I don't need no stinkin' butter (really, I love butter, but I definitely don't need to cook with that AND olive oil). Also, I used one BIG can of plum tomatoes. I got these at Trader Joes - they also had basil in them. They were whole tomatoes, yes, but I took out my immersion blender and pureed those puppies before putting them in the pan. What else... no parsley. Not a big fan. I used some Penzey's Tuscan Sunset in the sauce instead. It was AOK. Finally, last but not least, I didn't serve it with pasta. Don't hate me, I just didn't need to be weighed down with pasta. I just served it with some roasted broccoli (which, by the way, is great! Try roasting your fresh broccoli - a little olive oil, a little salt. Yum.).

I almost forgot my favorite part. Deglazing. I am in love with the smell from wine when deglazing. If I could deglaze every meal I would. Don't know what deglazing is ? It's takinga  liquid -- in this case wine -- and disolving all the lovely carmelized bits off the bottom of the pan to make a sauce. Try it. You'll love it.

Not serving with pasta did leave me with a lot of extra sauce, so I packed it up and put it in the freezer. I couldn't let all that beautiful sauce go to waste.

So, this was a winner. Definitely a future dinner. Both David and I had none left and we could have eaten more. the picture looks like the chicken is huge -- but no -- I serve my meals on small plates. I learned that your brain thinks you eat more when you have a full plate. It didn't work this time.