Rainy Weather Makes me Want to Cook

It's been a rainy weekend.  Rain means soup and comfort food and so on Saturday I made a Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Ka Gai) and Sunday I made a Caramel-Apple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake.  It may have been cold and rainy outside, but we were warm and full inside.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

The Thai soup starts with 2 cooked, shredded chicken breasts and a quart of chicken broth (The Tyler Florence Foodnetwork recipe this is based on uses homemade chicken stock, but I used low-sodium store bought chicken broth).  Get the broth simmering and add the following:

To 1 quart chicken broth add: 1 tbsp lemon grass puree, or 1 lemon grass stalk white part only, cracked open (I used puree), Add 1 tbsp (roughly) lime zest, about 2 tbsp grated ginger (peel and freeze it first and it's super easy to grate), and 1-2 jalapeno peppers or Thai chilis, seeded and chopped.  Oh, you also need 2 chopped garlic cloves.

Let the broth and added ingredients simmer for about 10 minutes.  Then add 1 can of coconut milk (I used light coconut milk) and the shredded chicken.  Also add about 1 cup sliced mushrooms and the juice of 1 lime.  I actually threw the lime halves into the soup and let them simmer with it.  Finally, add 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce and 1 1/2 tsp sugar.  Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Top your soup with fresh cilantro.  It's very light and brothy, with a slightly sweet and spicy taste. I'll be making it again, that's for sure!

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake

You'll need: 6 tbsp butter (plus another 1/4 cup melted later), 4 apples, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 2 tsp milk, 1/2 cup chopped pecans (i used walnuts), 1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional, I left these out), 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tsp granulated sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 cup cornmeal, 1 cup hot water, 2 eggs, lightly beaten, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Peel, core and slice the apples.  Melt 2 tbsp butter in an oven-safe, 10" skillet and saute the apples.

 I sauteed these for about 8 minutes.

Next, remove the apples from the pan.  Melt 4 tbsp butter and add the brown sugar.  Stir until everything is dissolved and the mixture boils.  Remove from heat and add the milk.  then sprinkle in the nuts (and cranberries if you used them).

Layer the apples on top of the walnuts and caramel.  You can be pretty about it if you wish.

In 1 small bowl mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  In a medium bowl mix the cornmeal, 1/4 cup melted butter and 1 cup hot water.  Then add in the eggs and vanilla.  Finally, mix the flour mixture into the cornmeal mixture, just until combined.  Pour this over the apples.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a knife, inserted, comes out clean.

Let cool for 10 minutes.

Ta-da!  Carefully invert the cake onto a platter.

Doesn't that look awesome?  We had ours with a scoop of Ben and Jerry's caramel ice cream with dark caramel swirls. In this house, there's no such thing as too much caramel!

Last Minute Ideas

Last night I was exhausted. We had been on a 3-hour mountain bike ride earlier, which capped off 3 days off riding, plus work, etc. I was tired. For dinner I had planned a very simple pasta sauce of tomato sauce, garlic, ricotta cheese, and grilled artichokes (the jarred ones). Then I made the mistake of watching the Food Network before dinner. Tom whats-his-face from "The Next Food Network Star" has this show called "Outrageous Food," and he was talking to a guy about a gigantic meatball sub. Suddenly I wanted meatballs. I've been trying to limit meat to one meal a day, and since I hadn't had any yesterday I figured why not? I thought about it for a few minutes and came up with these little beauties (sorry, these were the only ones left after last night!)

Yummy chicken meatballs!

Here's what I did with full and complete disclosure:  I make my own ranch dressing.  I'd made some in the food processor before making the chicken meatballs and thought I don't think I'll rinse that.  So my chicken got mixed with the ranch herbs of parsley, garlic, chives and onion powder from the get-go.  But I digress... Ok, so I thawed 2 chicken breasts and chopped them into like bite-sized pieces.  I put one chopped chicken breast in the food processor and added 2 cloves garlic and about 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley.  I pulsed that until everything was blended and the chicken was chopped pretty fine.  Then I scraped that into a bowl and pulsed up the second chicken breast.   I scraped that into the bowl with the other chicken mixture.  Then I added 1 egg, about 3/4 cup of bread crumbs, and about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.  I mixed all this up with my hands and then started making meatballs. 

I used a round pizza pan but any cookie sheet will do.  I lined mine with aluminum foil and sprayed it with olive oil.  My meatballs were roughly golf-ball sized...maybe a little bigger.  I just worked the mixture into a sort-of ball shape and dropped it on the pan.  Nothing more.  I was able to get 9 big meatballs out of the mix.

I at first cooked the meatballs with the broiler on low...and my top oven shelf is about in the middle of the oven, not the very top.  After about 10-12 minutes I kicked the broiler up to high and let the meatballs cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Watch closely so they don't burn!  Mine were done at this point.  I cut one in half to check and then used a meat thermometer to make sure they were at 165F in the middle. 

I served mine alongside my pasta, but today I had one on a salad and that was good too.  These would be super tasty for meatball subs!

The Voodoo Biker Takes over the Kitchen

Yesterday was the Voodoo Biker's (formerly known as the BF) day off. That meant he was in charge of dinner. Let me tell you, if I had a daughter I would tell her to find a man who can cook. It. Is. Awesome. Voodoo Biker has recipes and tricks up his sleeve that I'd never be able to replicate, so I don't even try. My latest favorite is his oven-fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

Voodoo Biker coats boneless, skinless chicken breasts in egg, then coats them in a mix of bread crumbs and flour.  He browns both sides in the cast-iron skillet on top of the stove, then cooks the chicken in the oven (obviously in the same pan) for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.  It's SO good.

This is all he'll tell me about his mashed potatoes:  Make sure you cook the potatoes long enough.  Add milk, butter, and sour cream.

I was in charge of the asparagus.  After breaking off the tough ends, I coated them with about 1 tbsp olive oil, sprinkled on coarse salt and blue cheese crumbles, and roasted them at 400 for 20 minutes.  Then I added a splash of balsamic viniagrette.  

What an awesome dinner. Sure I had to do the dishes (that's the rule...whoever doesn't cook, does the dishes), but it was SO worth it. Oh, Voodoo Biker serves the chicken with an awesome honey-mayo dip. Trust me, it's fabulous. If you are averse to mayo, honey mustard would be great too ;)

Homemade Popcorn

I'm sitting here at my desk eating my 10:00 a.m. snack.  Today it's homemade popcorn.  I am in love with homemade popcorn.  We started making it again (vs microwaved popcorn) because the BF said store bought microwaved popcorn was too salty.  Here's a pic of the last kernels of my snack today.

Here's how we make it:  In a medium pot that's made of a heavier metal (or really in any sauce pot you have) add 1-2 tbsp oil (enough to eventually cover the bottom).  When I use the 5 quart pan, I use 3 tbsp oil, but never more than that.  Add in 1 kernel of white or yellow corn.  I prefer white.  Don't ask me why because I really couldn't tell you.  Put the heat on medium (around 6 on my stove).  When the one kernel pops, add in enough kernels to cover the bottom of the pan.  Put the lid on.  When everything starts popping, shake occasionally and allow to continue popping until the popping slows way down.  If I can count to 3 without hearing a pop, I take it off the heat.  Add as much salt as you like, parmesan cheese, cinnamon...whatever you like, and enjoy!

Homemade Black Bean Burgers and Green Goddess Dressing

The BF and I are big advocates of vegetarianism.  As long as you continue to get a good amount of protein, we feel like it's healthier than eating meat.  We also aren't fans of large cattle and chicken processing plants and farms; that being said, we do enjoy steaks and grilled chicken...so we haven't fully converted.  If I could always buy locally raised and processed animals products, I might feel differently, but I can't.  So, I try to eat less meat and more veggies.

Tonight I was in the mood for black beans...and I was in the mood for burgers.  So I decided to make black bean burgers.   I've never made them before, but I figured what the heck?  I read a few recipes on my favorite new recipe site, foodily.com.  I came home with a plan...which came unhinged when I remembered I'd used all the mushrooms up the night before.  No matter!  I would persevere.  I DID have a recipe for the Greek Goddess Dressing (which I didn't follow).

Julie's Spring Green Goddess Dressing

In a food processor add the following:  1 tbsp dried (or 2 fresh) chives and the same amount of basil.  Then add 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsely and 2 tbsp fresh chopped tarragon.  (Whichever of the 4 you have fresh, use 2 tbsp, of the dried, use 1).  Add like 1/4 tsp lemon grass puree or 1 tsp lemon juice.  Add 1 shallot or about 3 tbsp or 1/4 cup chopped onion.  Add 1/4 cup mayo.  Blend until well-mixed.  Scrape everything out of the food processor into a bowl and add 3/4 cup sour cream (or, if you're me and don't have that much sour cream on hand, add enough mayo, sour cream, and ricotta cheese to make 3/4 cup).  Refrigerate for 30 min.

The burgers:

Start by chopping 2 tbsp parsley, 1/4 cup onion, and 2-3 tbsp red bell pepper.  If you hate onions or bell pepper, you could substitute mushrooms, corn or maybe even finely chopped beets?  Throw all this in the food processor.  Add 1 egg, 1 tbsp oil.

Along with the above ingredients, add 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans, pepper, 1/4 cup bread crumbs (seasoned).  Leave out the steak seasoning...it's not necessary.  Blend everything slowly - pulse.  Once it's all just mixed into a paste, empty into a mixing bowl.  This should be a scraping-out-of-the-bowl process.

Add another 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and 1 tbsp whole wheat flour.  Mix with your hands.  It's going to be sticky.  Before shaping into patties I recommend spraying your plate with cooking spray; spray your hands too.  Shape into 4 patties.  See how pretty? Grill the burgers over medium-high heat for 5 min on each side.  Add cheese and melt.

Put a large dollop of Julie's Spring Green Goddess dressing on each side of your bun.  Top with chopped tomatoes. Add your burger patty, sliced avocado, and lettuce.  Enjoy!

 

Chard--who knew?

Until Sunday, I'd never had chard.  Chard?  What's that?  It's a leafy green with over a day's worth of Vitamins A and K in a serving!  It has half a day's worth of Vitamin C.  The flavor is really mild, like spinach, but I think it holds up better to sauteeing than spinach does.  I decided to do a chard saute with caramelized onions and red wine.  Here's basically what I did (you know I don't ever have an exact recipe!)

Cook about 1 cup thinly sliced onions in 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp oil until golden.  About 20 minutes over medium low heat.

Chop chard (or tear) and rinse well.  Allow to drain and dry thoroughly.

Add bunches of chopped chard to the onions, along with 1 chopped garlic clove.  Shuffle around each bunch of chard until slightly wilted, then add more.

At the end, when all chard is added and slightly wilted, add a splash (like 1/2 tbsp) of red wine.  Toss everything and cook a minute or two.  Final product--wilted chard with caramelized onions and red wine.

To go with this, we were having leftover lasagna.  For whatever reason I thought I needed another side dish and I wanted something slightly decadent.  I took small brown button mushrooms, dusted them off with a damp paper towel, and cut off the stems.  Then I came up with these beauties:

Melt 2.5 tbsp butter and 2.5 tbsp olive oil in a sauce pan or shallow pot.  Add 1/4 cup red wine.  DRY wine. Add in a small carton of button mushrooms (brown or white).  Allow mixture to simmer, with a lid, over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until mushrooms are super soft.  Turn the heat up to medium high and allow the liquid to reduce until all wine is cooked out.  Serve warm!

Apple Sauce Oatmeal "kitchen sink" cookies

Really, I do actually start things with a recipe.  I just rarely follow it exactly.  Take today for example:  I planned on making "Peanut Butter Oatmeal Ranch Cookies."  Then I had some leftover Thai stuff for lunch with peanut sauce and decided I'd had enough peanutty taste for one day.  So what I ended up with were these:

Getting ready for the oven

Yummy!  Cooling off.

Here is the original recipe, with my substitutions in italics.  

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup oats (old fashioned or quick)

1 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 stick salted butter, softened (Mine was most likely unsalted...I'm not looking at the box so I can't be sure.)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I substituted 2 tbsp canola oil and enough applesauce to make 1/2 cup total - that's oil + apple sauce combined.  Unsweetened apple sauce.)

1/4 cup honey

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

6 ounces raisins (about 1 cup) (1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)

3 ounces sunflower seeds (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 300.  Combine the dry ingredients (flours, oats, baking powder) and whisk a bit.  In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, softened butter, apple sauce/oil (or peanut butter), honey, eggs and vanilla at medium speed until everything is blended together.  Add the dry ingredients + sunflower seeds, raisins, and chocolate chips to the wet mix.  Mix just until combined (I do this with a spoon, but you can do it with a mixer as well.) 

Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 18-22 minutes or until the bottoms are browned.  These won't spread out a lot, as you can see from the picture above, but they are super good!  If my calculations are close to correct (and they very well may not be), they had somewhere between 75-100 calories each, depending on how many you make.  I made 39.

I think you can probably add anything to these as long as you keep about the same measurements...coconut, pecans, dried fruit...whatever you like!

It's pretty easy cooking green...

I must've been in a green mood today.  Maybe I'm finally ready for Spring?  I'm craving bright tastes, bright colors, and warmth.  Therefore, tonight's menu consisted of: tarragon-pistachio pesto on whole-wheat pizza dough, pasta with spinach and a creamy bechamel sauce, and roasted broccoli.  Here is what was left on my plate when I stopped eating long enough to take a picture:

 

 So, let's get started, shall we?  First I made the pesto because it could easily be refrigerated while everything else was cooking.  If you want the pizza crust recipe, I think I have posted about it before...you can always email me!  For the pesto you will need:  tarragon (2 tbsp fresh or 1 tbsp dried), 1/2 cup chopped, fresh parsley, 1 clove garlic, 2 tbsp shelled pistachios, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Blend everything except the olive oil in the food processor.  Then add in the olive oil and blend some more.  Add 2 tbsp water.  Blend again.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  That's it!  That simple.  It's a great pasta sauce, a great topping for breads...yummy.

Next I worked on the spinach.  I used about 1 lb. fresh spinach.  First, wash it all, obviously.  DON'T dry it.  Put the majority (all but like 2 handfuls) in a large deep pot and cook over medium heat, with the lid on, until it all wilts down.  Then drain it and keep the liquid.  I did this by draining it in a strainer over a bowl.  I left it there for a bit to cool while I did some other prep work and then squeezed all the water out.  All the spinach (the raw and the cooked) needs to be finely chopped.  Once you've done this, put it aside.  

In the mean time, cook 1 lb. pasta.  Whatever shape you like, but not long spaghetti noodles.

The spinach gets added to a Bechamel sauce.  This really isn't difficult.  Melt 4 tbsp butter in that same large pot you cooked the spinach in.  Once the butter melts (medium heat...) add 1/4 cup of flour.  Whisk these together and keep whisking for a full minute or so, so that the flour cooks.  Add 2 cups milk.  When it begins to bubble, (about 5 min later) whisk more and add salt and pepper to taste.  Then add a sprinkle of nutmeg.  Taste.  If you don't taste any difference, add a little more.  At the most, add 1/4 tsp nutmeg.  Trust me, it'll make a difference!  Add in the reserved spinach liquid (about 1/4-1/2 cup) and whisk.  Take it off the heat.  It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, but not so thick the spoon will stand up in it.  Mix in both kinds of spinach (raw and cooked) and add in 1 lb. cooked pasta.  

Ah, the broccoli.  While all that other stuff is going on,  sort of slice 1 head or 2 of broccoli.  Keep all the florets and stems sort of nice and long.  Spread everything out on a sheet pan, add 2 tbsp oil and shuffle everything around to make sure oil gets on all the broccoli.  Roast at 425 for 10-12 minutes, then kick it up to 475 for another 5-10 until it starts to get brown and crispy around the edges.  

Ta-da!  You're all done!  What a healthy and green meal.  I hope you have someone else to wash the dishes ;)