August 19th, 2007
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Calabacitas con Crema
From Tasting Spoons blog
Source: Rick Bayless, restaurateur, from his book Authentic Mexican
Servings: 8
1 lb zucchini — (about four small)
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, fresh if possible
1/2 whole onion — thinly sliced
2/3 cup heavy cream (or use fat-free half and half) – optional
1 whole poblano pepper — roasted, seeded, peeled and cut in thin strips
1 tsp salt
1 Tb butter
1 Tb vegetable oil — or vegetable oil
1. Chop the zucchini in large chunks (about 3/4 inch to 1 inch) and set aside. Prepare onions ahead and set aside. Grill the poblano chile directly on a gas flame, cool, remove skin, then cut into small strips.
2. Using a very large skillet, heat butter and oil until very hot. Add zucchini and toss until tender. Remove the zucchini from the pan with a slotted spoon, allowing it to drain well. In the remaining oil and butter, fry the onion slices until soft and sweet, then add the corn and pepper slices. Add the zucchini and cream and cook until nice and hot. Taste for salt and pepper and serve.
Recipe Notes: I recommend some fresh squeezed lime juice and perhaps a shake or two of chili powder just for notching up the flavor. Sour cream was my ‘crema’ of choice today and it was delicious. I did not use onion and didn’t miss it; it’s not my fave so please, if it’s yours, put it in. I used two poblano peppers, two ears of corn and three zucchini for this.
August 15th, 2007
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Vegetable Stuffed Shells
1 pkg large pasta shells
1 8-oz carton nonfat cottage cheese
1 red pepper*, Cored and seeded
4 oz fresh mushrooms
1-2 zucchini*, peeled and shredded on a box grater
6 oz fresh spinach*
8 oz mozzarella cheese, grated and divided
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
½ c. fresh bread crumbs
1 t. each onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil and dried rosemary
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1 jar pasta sauce of choice (optional add-in could be chopped roma tomatoes and some extra mushrooms)
Cook shells in boiling water until firm but tender, do not cook for full amount of time stated on package. Shells should still be firm to the feel. (they will stuff and cook better this way) Heat oven to 375
Place entire contents of cottage cheese in bowl of food processor and process until smooth, it should resemble ricotta cheese. Scrape into large bowl. Add red pepper chunks to food processor and pulse 3-5 times or until finely minced. Add to bowl with cottage cheese. De-stem mushrooms and break into food processor bowl, pulse 2-4 times or until finely minced. Add to cheese mix, repeat with spinach, pulsing until finely minced. Add seasonings and bread crumbs. Stir cheese and veggies to mix. Grate 4 oz of mozzarella cheese into bowl, add all grated Parmesan and stir thoroughly to mix. Spread about ½ c. of pasta sauce on bottom of 9×13 pan. Stuff shells with cheese/veggie mix and place in pan on sauce. Spoon remaining sauce on top of shells and top with remaining grated mozzarella. Bake until heated through and bubbly, about 20-25 minutes.
*Recipe Notes: Fresh vegetables have a lot of water in them, and to avoid having a watery finished dish, squeeze the excess water from the pepper once it is chopped in the processor. I placed it in a wire mesh strainer and pressed out the liquid. With the zucchini, I grated it into a colander and tossed it with kosher salt, then let it drain for 10 minutes. Rinse well. Press it in a wire strainer also. Fresh spinach shouldn’t be too weepy; should you use frozen, make sure to squeeze out the water. I wouldn’t recommend adding fresh tomato to the mixture as it will make them watery.
June 27th, 2007
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Pasta with Lemon Wine Sauce
1# cooked pasta, drained, reserving cooking water
1 package grape tomatoes, quartered
2 large tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 bunches broccoli, trimmed
3 sausage links, chopped (i used a tomato basil chicken sausage)
1 cup dry white wine
Juice of one lemon
Zest of one lemon
Grated cheese for garnish
In large skillet, heat oil of choice and add broccoli, stir fry quickly until bright green. Add about 1/3 c. water to pan and cover. Allow to steam for five minutes. Remove broccoli to bowl and cover. In same pan, add sausage and brown for 5-10 minutes. Remove. Add a splash of oil to pan and place chopped regular tomatoes in pan. Cook until they have broken down, maybe 3-5 minutes. Pour in wine, add garlic and 1 tablespoon of zest and bring to a simmer; cook until reduced by half. Have pasta, sausage and broccoli ready in large pan or bowl. Add quartered grape tomatoes to skillet and about a half cup of reserved cooking water; stir quickly to incorporate then pour over pasta mixture. Toss gently. Stir in a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and a little more zest (to taste). Season with salt and pepper.
May 14th, 2007
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I could perhaps subtitle this post “The Wait Coulda Killed Me” to get the point across that this dish takes time, people. The particular recipe I followed said to marinate the meat for 48 hours. That’s one heckuva long time to wait for something so good.
But it was worth it. Woweeee…. was it worth it.
Other recipes call for a 24 hour marinating period. The next time (heavy emphasis on ‘next time’ because it was THAT good!) I will only allow it to languish in its spicy and nose numbing marinade for a day before sending it off to the slow cooker. I can’t wait that long again for this delight.
Carne Adovada is described as ‘traditional New Mexicao pork in adobo sauce’. I found the recipe in a long forgotten cookbook that Mike had when we married called ‘Sante Fe Hot and Spicy- Hot New Recipes from Santa Fe Chefs’. On the back of the book it says “Attention Chile lovers, if you like fiery food, here’s the book for you, Kate and Mike.” All right, no, it doesn’t have our names on it, but it seems to be geared towards our culinary tastes so I took a generous creative leap there. This multi step recipe first has you create a simply eye watering concoction of dried chile peppers with various and sundry other items that you simmer in a pot and then put through a food processor, turning it into a rich, thick sauce that you pour over cubed pork shoulder and allow it sit for two days. Once it has sufficiently soaked up all that capsaicin, you cook it slowly until it is meltingly tender and so aromatic that it drives you just plain mad in your quest to stuff it shamelessly into your mouth; rich sauce dripping down your chin.
I admit that, yes, I did this. No apologies either. No one saw me so it doesn’t count.
I expected that the finished product would be blazingly hot, but what I tasted was a pleasant zing that left my mouth tingly but still with all its nerve endings intact. The meat….oh, that meat was so achingly tender that it simply broke into great slivers in my mouth as easily as an empty egg shell cracks under pressure. One could just push an errant finger into a large chunk and it would break apart; no knife, no fork or even a spoon was needed. With our homemade tortillas, some cheese and shredded lettuce, it was a meal that caused us all to swoon in delight. My sweet little carnivore had salivated over it all afternoon and was joyously rewarded with an intense protein high after two good sized burritos. Feed him meat and he’s all yours. He even mowed the lawn and whacked the weeds around the whole house without any complaint because HE KNEW what was for dinner. Meat+Mom= Griffin Love.
I followed the chile sauce recipe fairly closely, using Ancho and New Mexico dried chiles. The processing of the solids is very messy…..don’t wear good clothes and go in batches. You will need to strain out all the chile skins and any seeds that get into it. I had my meat all cut up and strained the sauce right into the pan with the meat. Still, I made an all encompassing mess, splattering my counter tops with red splotches that made my dish rag look like it had been used to clean up a murder scene. Thank goodness for bleach. I actually had the bright idea of putting the meat into a crockpot liner to marinate, which then went seamlessly into the crockpot to cook when it was ready. Sometimes my brilliancy amazes me. When it came time to put it all together, I left out the extras to go in the marinade as I wanted it to be mild enough for Griffin to eat. Follow the recipe, or sub in what amounts you are comfortable with, but if this is something you think you would love to death, please do yourself a favor and make it. You will not be disappointed at all.
Red Chile Sauce
3/4# dried chile peppers; ancho, New Mexico, guajillo…..you pick your heat level.
1 large onion, chopped
8 cloves fresh garlic, smashed with skins removed
2 t. dried oregano
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. kosher salt
De-stem and de-seed chile peppers; place in large stock pot and cover with hot water. Soak for 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to pot, bring to a boil then simmer over low heat for half an hour. Drain off solids, reserve liquid. Allow to cool slightly, then process solids in batches in a food processor using reserve liquid for proper consistency. Strain through a wire sieve, pressing on the solids to extract the liquids. This should make about a quart.
Carne Adovada
3-4 pounds pork shoulder or butt, cut into 1/2″ cubes and trimmed of most fat.
4 c. Red Chile Sauce (just use the amount a batch would make)
2 New Mexico dried chile peppers, destemmed, deseeded and crumbled
4 t. red pepper flakes
2 sticks cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in glass bowl and stir to mix. Cover and chill for 24-48 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon before cooking. Cooking method: This can be done in a crockpot on medium for about 4 hours or low for longer; it also can be brought to a boil on the stove then transferred to a 350 degree oven and baked, covered, for 2 hours.
NOTE: When the meat is done, plenty of liquid will be in the pot with any fat that cooked off. Allow the meat to sit and cool, then pour off the thin liquid that has accumulated, leaving the solids in with the meat. If you chill it thoroughly, the fat will be easier to remove. This step is entirely optional if the fat content does not bother you.
Serve with tortillas, avocado, shredded lettuce, cheese etc…… or simply grab a spoon and shovel it in.
May 11th, 2007
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Curried Vegetables with Yellow Daal and Coconut Rice
For the Daal:
1 ½ c. either red lentils or yellow split peas
4-5 c. water
Use 4 c. water for lentils; 5 for split peas. Rinse legumes well. Place legumes and water in heavy pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until legumes are tender. Puree in batches in food processor with cooking water, adding more if necessary for smoothness. Daal will thicken upon standing.
Curried Vegetables:
Vegetable oil or ghee
1 chopped onion
2 red peppers, cored and diced
½ head cauliflower, broken into florets
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
5-6 oz. fresh spinach
2 T. fresh grated ginger root
1 T. mild curry powder
1 t. ground cumin
1 ½ c. water or vegetable broth
Juice of half a fresh lemon
Salt to taste
In a deep skillet, heat oil or ghee and add onions, cook until soft and translucent. Add peppers, cook until soft. Stir in cauliflower, curry powder and cumin. Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in sweet potatoes and grated ginger. Stir to combine. Pour in water, stir to incorporate and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until cauliflower and potato are fork tender but still firm. De-stem and coarse chop spinach. When vegetables are tender, stir in spinach and lemon juice. Simmer to wilt spinach then serve immediately with the Daal and Coconut Rice.
Coconut Rice
1 ½ c. water
1 c. basmati rice
½ c. coconut milk
½ t. turmeric
¼ t. kosher salt
1 cinnamon stick
¼ c. currants or golden raisins
In a saucepan with a tight fitting lid, bring water to a boil. Rinse rice well, and add to boiling water along with all the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and remove cinnamon stick before serving
May 7th, 2007
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So with all the good news out there about the health benefits of eating nuts, having a container of trail mix, or gorp if you are so inclined, on your counter for snacks seems like it would be a great idea, doesn’t it? Lots of grocers and all natural food stores carry bulk products where you can scoop out what you want and customize your mix to your liking. It’s a simple, easy snack that you can take anywhere; Mike will scoop up a baggie full to have in the car when he has a client meeting and it keeps him from stopping to get something junky when he is on the road.
For our favorite blend, I like to use dried apricots, craisins, dried blueberries and black raisins for the fruit; soynuts, unsalted roasted almonds, unsalted sunflower nuts, pistachios and salted roasted peanuts for the nutty component. I throw in handfuls and stir until it looks right; it certainly isn’t rocket science. Some salt is ok, and for whatever oddball reason, I really like dried apricots dusted with some of that salt. I have sometimes put in chocolate chips, flaked coconut or currants too. It’s entirely up to you as to what you use, that’s the beauty of it. So if you’ll pardon me, I’ve got the munchies and a perfect snack to satisfy it.
February 22nd, 2007
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This utterly outstanding soup is courtesy of the current issue of Eating Well magazine. There is an very nice article about wheat berries in it, along with some very tempting recipes. We have enjoyed wheat berries before but I wasn’t 100% sure of how to cook them and so they disappeared from our meals. The magazine lists a method too. Of course, you could make this soup without the wheat berries and it would still likely be quite good. The berries add a certain earthy-ness to it though. Wheat berries are the whole, unprocessed wheat kernel, they are loaded with B vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc and fiber and because they aren’t refined, all three parts of the grain- the nutrient rich bran, germ and endosperm are all intact making them a whole grain. And we all know how whole grains are very good for you. They do require a long cooking time though. Once cooked however, they keep very well in the freezer and can be tossed into soups still frozen, or heated up quickly in the microwave for a nice side dish. They are nutty, chewy, and grainy. You should be eating some of these little grains. To cook them, put two cups of washed and picked over berries in a large saucepan and add 7 cups of water with about 1/2 t. of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 1-1 1/2 hours while you go about your business. They should be chewy, easily broken with your teeth but not hard. Spread the cooked berries on a cookie sheet to cool, then they can be frozen in one cup increments in freezer bags for a month. The two cup amount yielded about 5 1/2 cups when I cooked them.
When you have the berries cooked, then make this soup.
Wheatberry Lentil Soup
1 ½ c. green or brown lentils, washed and picked over, 4 c. vegetable broth, 4 c. cold water. Place lentils in 4-quart stockpot, add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 25-35 minutes.
4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped, 1 large onion, finely chopped, ½ t. salt, ½ t. fresh ground pepper, 2 T. olive oil. Heat oil in sauté pan. Add carrot, onion, salt and pepper and sauté for approximately 15-20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Vegetables should be tender, slightly browned. Then add the following:
4 cloves garlic, minced, 1 ½ t. ground cumin
Sauté for about 30 seconds to one minutes, Turn off heat.
When lentils are tender but not mushy, add 1-1 ½ c. cooked wheat berries and about two cups of rough chopped fresh chard or fresh spinach. Heat through until greens are wilted. Add in carrot mixture. Add in 3 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
(Serving size: 1 2/3 cups. Calories per serving: 250. Fat: 8 g (1 g sat, 5 g mono) O mg cholesterol, 36 g. carbs, 9 g. Protein, 9 g fiber, 617 mg sodium, 433 mg potassium. Extra nutrition: fiber, vitamin A, folate, vitamin C and Iron)
This soup was really delicious, and very flavorful. The lentils and berries added a nice chewiness to it, the carrots, while soft, weren’t mushy and had some good texture still. And I just love spinach, so that was perfect as well. The soup had a really good scent to it too, very earthy and hearty and it reminded me clearly of what the air smells like after a good rain. Kind of odd, but that was the image that came to mind when I bent over the steaming pot. Although I only had one serving, it filled me up. What a lunch! I could have just kept eating but y’know that just doesn’t help me when I see that drawer full of jeans that don’t fit.
A good note- all of Eating Well’s recipe’s are available on their website without a magazine or online subscription, so if you are at all interested in more things to do with the mighty wheat berry, visit them at eatingwell dot com. You might be really glad you did.
January 12th, 2007
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Tonight I made a Poblano Corn Relish from the October ’06 Food and Wine mag. It was pretty simple; in a non-stick skillet over high heat sear without stirring thin strips of one poblano pepper until slightly charred (use no oil) then add a small amount of oil and one minced shallot. Saute for 5 minutes, add two cloves minced garlic and saute 3 minutes. Add in one cup of frozen corn and cook through, about 3-5 minutes. Remove to a bowl, stir in the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of fresh cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Top with fresh cilantro when serving. The recipe also called for one avocado cut into chunks to be stirred in with the juice. I was guilty of using all the avocado in the guacamole earlier this week!
When I cook Tilapia, I dredge it in seasoned cornmeal and pan sear it over high heat in just a tiny amount of oil, cooking it nearly all the way through before flipping it over. This gives it a nice crunchy exterior. I served it with the simplest of veggie side dishes, Spicy Stir Fry Carrots with Peanuts from the Sara Moulton Cooks at Home cookbook.
For the carrots, you’ll need peanut oil, one 10-oz bag of shredded/matchstick carrots, 1/2 c. finely chopped peanuts and one teaspoon red pepper flakes. Heat oil over high heat in large saute pan (enough to coat the pan), add carrots and stir to coat with oil. Stir fry (toss constantly) for about 2 minutes, add the peanuts and the pepper flakes and stir fry about 2-3 minutes more (maybe slighty longer if you use matchsticks). Easy. Done. Delicious. And it sure makes a pretty plate, doesn’t it??
January 5th, 2007
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Mac and Cheese (Grant Achatz’s from Food and Wine magazine, Dec ’06)
6 thick slices of bacon, diced, 1 medium onion, minced, 2 bay leaves, 1 T. sweet paprika, ½ t. cayenne,1/3 c. AP flour, 6 c. milk, 1 # elbow macaroni, 1# extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded. Browned bread crumbs if desired.
Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 9×13 pan with non stick cooking spray
In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add onion and bay leaves to pan and cook until onion is softened, 5 minutes. Stir in paprika and cayenne until fragrant. Add in flour and stir to incorporate. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, stirring frequently for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Boil water and cook pasta until just soft. Drain. Stir all but approximately one cup of cheese into the sauce, stirring well. Add in bacon. Pour over macaroni and mix well. Spread mac and cheese in baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbling. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
January 3rd, 2007
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Dan Dan Noodles (from Food and Wine Magazine, Jan 2007)
¼ c. peanut oil
½ c. peanuts
Heat oil in sauté pan, sauté peanuts over moderate heat until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool.
Place peanuts and oil in food processor with:
1 small jalapeno, seeded, diced and cut into small pieces; 1 clove garlic, cut in half; One ¼-inch chunk of fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
Process until finely chopped, scraping sides if necessary. Add in:
2 ½ T. soy sauce; 2 T. water; 1 ½ T. rice vinegar; 1 T. sriracha chile sauce; 1 T. sugar; 1 t. sesame oil
Process until smooth, scraping sides as needed. Salt to taste.
Mix sauce over cooked noodles, either soft chow mein, rice sticks, thin spaghetti or other noodle of choice. Toss to coat. Garnish with cucumber sticks, chopped green onions, sesame seeds and cilantro if desired.
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