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.
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 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.
January 1st, 2007
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Blueberry Bran Muffins
Mix in bowl until blended: 1 ½ c. buttermilk; 2 large eggs; 2 T. butter, melted; ¼ c. oil; ¼ c. real maple syrup
Add: 1 ½ c. All Bran cereal
Mix to combine and allow to sit at room temp. for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add in: 1/3 c. minced dried apricot, mango OR peaches (I used peaches this time)
In separate bowl, sift together 1 ½ c. AP flour; ½ whole oats, or packaged 7-Grain cereal (like Bob’s Red Mill), ¼ c. brown sugar, 1 t. EACH baking powder and baking soda, ¼ t. salt.
Add in wet ingredients, blend only until incorporated; stir in 1 c. frozen blueberries
Scoop into muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lined with paper cups. Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes until tops are firm and slightly browned. Cool 5 min. in pan and remove to cooling rack.
December 11th, 2006
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Chewy Chocolate Bites
4 squares Bakers unsweetened baking chocolate
1 1/2 sticks butter (no subs or all of the above mentioned will fail, trust me)
2 c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
Preheat oven to 350. Melt chocolate and butter over low heat (or use double boiler) until only small pieces remain. Remove from heat and stir gently to melt completely. Stir in sugar, blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, mix well. Chill for 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle. Shape into 1″ balls and place on greased cookie sheets about 2″ apart. Bake 8 minutes or until just set. Do not overbake. (again, trust me, don’t make ’em crispy ‘cuz all that stuff I said earlier? Yeah, ain’t gonna happen) Allow to cool on baking sheet about a minute then transfer to wire racks.
These are fabulous all by themselves, a dense chewy and rich cookie with amazing chocolate taste. However, you could up the Christmas love by embellishing them any and all ways. Crush some candy canes and sprinkle over the top before baking; press pieces of peanut butter cups in them after they come out of the oven; drizzle them with melted white chocolate (or my fav….melted cappucino chips….this, I swear, could solve world peace) or how about spreading them with a thick layer of mocha icing?? The possibilities are endless and as long and varied as everyone’s imagination. Bottom line…..MAKE them! Do yourself a favor if the omnipresent and ridiculous commercialism of Christmas is in any way getting to you and making you want to hibernate, go into hiding with a container of these and let the rest of the world just fall away. I don’t doubt it would do you wonders.
September 18th, 2006
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Poblano Rice with Vegetables
2 fresh poblano peppers
1 c. frozen corn
1 c. milk
2 c. long grain rice
2 t. cooking oil
2 c. chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 c. finely chopped carrot (or equiv. of shredded)
2 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Bay leaf
Halve seed and core the poblano peppers, rub with oil and broil until skins are blistered. Place peppers in bowl and cover to steam. When cooled completely, remove skins and chop.
Rinse corn under cool water to thaw slightly, and then place corn and milk in blender and process until smooth, set aside. In a large skillet with a tight lid, sauté onion in oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add zucchini, carrot and peppers, sauté another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove vegetables to bowl. Add rice to pan and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes. Add in vegetables and stir to combine. Slowly pour in corn/milk mix, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer, covered until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir to fluff. Remove bay leaf before serving.
The original of this recipe came from AllRecipes.com but has undergone the Extreme Recipe Makeover edition in my kitchen, as most recipes do when they get in my eager little hands. There are a few critical steps to this recipe that really add to the final taste that shouldn’t be skipped, namely the pepper roasting and the corn and milk mixture. It may add a bit of extra time, but the final result is worth it. You can alter the amount of rice to suit your needs, but make sure as a rule that you double the liquid, using the corn/milk mix as part of that. The added veggies can be suited to your tastes as well. These are from the original recipe, I have subbed shredded carrot for the diced with good results.
September 10th, 2006
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Harvest Stew
1# pork loin or roast, cut into 1” pieces with fat trimmed; 2 small onions, diced; 1 medium apple, peeled and diced; 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes with juice; 1 14-oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed.
Peel and dice the following:
2 red garnet yams, 3 medium carrots, 2 parsnips
Toss together in a plastic bag with 4-6 small cloves of garlic, 2 T. canola oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast on parchment covered cookie sheet at 400° until fork tender.
Sauté onion until slightly browned. Remove from pan. Sauté pork until browned, draining off any liquid. If desired, add about 1 c. rich red wine and reduce to half. Add back in onions, apple and tomatoes with their juice. Rinse the tomato can with a cup of water and add that as well. Simmer, covered, until meat is fork tender. Stir in vegetables and beans and heat through. Thicken with a flour/water slurry if desired.
September 9th, 2006
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Applesauce Spice Cake
4 T. real butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. water
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 c. flour (use half whole wheat if you wish)
2 T. ground flaxseed
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. each nutmeg, allspice and ginger
Blend all dry ingredients together. Cream sugar and butter until smooth then add in egg, water and applesauce and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients and mix until incorporated and slightly fluffy. Spray an 8-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour in batter, bake in a 350d oven 30-35 minutes, or until tested done.
September 1st, 2006
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Everyone knows that more whole grain is always a good thing to eat. I love granola, as does Mike and yet I won’t spend the abhorrent amounts of money asked for in a store to buy a 10-oz bag of granola that will disappear in one sitting in my house. I found the origin of this recipe in a Cooking Light magazine and embellished it to include more grain and flavor. It makes a big batch all on it’s own, but I double it because we can eat it on so many things.
Granola
In a large bowl combine 2 c. regular oats, 2 c. barley flakes, 1 c. oat bran, 1/3 c. ground flaxseed, 1/4 c. chopped almonds, 1 t. ground cinnamon and 1/2 t. nutmeg. In a small saucepan stir together 1/3 c. orange juice, 1/3 c. honey, 1/4 c. packed brown sugar and 2 t. canola oil. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 2 t. vanilla extract. Pour over dry ingredients and stir well to coat. Spread on two cookie sheets coated with non-stick spray and bake at 300 degrees for approximately 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10-15. Remove from oven and sprinkle the top with dried cranberries and/or dried blueberries to taste. Allow to cool and store in airtight container.
September 1st, 2006
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Hummus
Combine the following in food processor: 1 14-oz can garbanzo beans (i drain and rinse, you decide about that one), 1/3 c. tahini, 1/4 c. lemon juice, 1 T. oilive oil, 2 t. minced garlic, 1 t. salt, and 1/4 c. water for smoothness (this is optional but it seems to even it out well- you will need less water if you don’t rinse the beans)
Whirl together until well blended, scraping sides and stirring from the bottom as needed. Keep in fridge, eat with pita bread, crackers or veggies. Resist standing at the counter and eating it with a spoon.
I often add about 1/2 c. chopped kalamata olives to ours because we love the flavor. I have also used roasted red peppers which makes it sweeter. Don’t skimp on tahini, it gives it the authenticity you want and if you can find organic tahini, buy it. The flavor is way better.
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