Meatless Mondays, Holidays, etc.

I was reading this article today and it got me to thinking about all those wonderful side dishes we have for holidays.  In fact, last year the BF and I seriously debated not having turkey this year at Thanksgiving.  The cornbread dressing, brussels sprouts, mashed sweet potatoes, and other goodies were so wonderful that honestly the turkey was just kind of that-thing-you-have-to-cook.  Then we decided that we definitely wanted the turkey for sandwiches the day after, so we nixed ditching the turkey all together.

However, I think our favorite meatless side dish has to be the roasted brussels sprouts.  I buy them fresh and halve the medium-sized ones (walnut sized) and then quarter any bigger than that.  I toss them in olive oil and sea salt and then roast them on a pan for about 20 minutes at 425.  It could take longer than 20 minutes...but I keep them in there until they start to get crispy.  Even if you hated brussels sprouts when you were younger, I encourage you to try this, or some variation perhaps with broccoli or cauliflower.

While our Thanksgiving will not be meatless, we do have meatless meals quite often.  Some of our favorites are various veggie pizzas--mushroom and artichoke, pesto and roasted tomato, and one with goat cheese, walnut pesto, and artichokes made by our favorite pizza place.  Pizza is SO easy to make great and vegetarian at the same time!  You never even miss the meat!

Risottos are also a great way to skip the meat.  They are so hearty and warm and cozy on their own!  Yes, risotto takes a little effort, but it's not particularly hard--it's just time consuming.  Still, since all you really have to do for the most part is stir and add broth, stir and add broth, repeat...it's pretty mindless.  Here is a great butternut squash risotto recipe courtesy of the Food Network.  Butternut squash is slightly sweet and while fresh is best, using the frozen butternut squash does make this much simpler.  But this recipe, a salad, and some french bread will fill you up in no time!

Of course, a last way to have a meatless meal is just to make a fabulous pot of potato soup.  What are your favorite "meatless" meals or side dishes?

Mac-N-Cheese perfection

For years I have been trying to perfect my homemade macaroni and cheese.  Often it was much easier to just stick with the old standby:  Kraft.  But since I am trying to stay away from more processed foods, I really wanted to work on homemade mac and cheese with sharp cheddar cheese sauce.   About a month ago I followed Alton Brown's recipe and that was pretty good; it seemed a little dry, but I liked the mix of ingredients.  Tonight I followed my instincts and came up with something like this:

I boiled about half a box of rigatoni pasta (it captures the sauce really well).  While that was working I melted 2 tbsp of butter in a sauce pan and added 2 tbsp of flour.  I cooked that for a few minutes and then added a full tbsp of dijon mustard (if using yellow mustard maybe use 1/2 a tbsp).  After whisking that around I poured in probably 2.5 cups of 2% milk.  (I say probably because I am honestly not sure.  I know it was at least 2 cups.  I added some crushed red pepper (just a sprinkle) and some cracked black pepper.  I let it barely barely come to a boil--as soon as I saw movement I took it off the heat--and added 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese and about 1/4 cup of swiss cheese.  I whisked it in and then added about 1 tsp salt (to taste).  This sat until the pasta was ready.  I drained the pasta, mixed the two together and then in a separate bowl beat 1 egg.  I mixed a little of the cheese sauce in with the egg and then poured it back in with the pasta and cheese mix. 

I poured all of this into a greased 9" cast iron skillet.  I topped this with a mixture of 1 tbsp oil with 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (or enough crumbs and cheese to still be moist, but not wet when mixed with the oil). 

FINALLY I baked the mac and cheese for about 20 minutes at 425--until everything was brown and bubbly.  This was the best mac and cheese I've ever made!  So good in fact that I went back for seconds...

Pesto is definitely the best-o!

Tonight I made my very own pesto...sans recipe!  The one little plant in my window garden is a basil plant.  Tonight I blended about a cup of those leaves, along with 4 cloves of garlic (3 might have been a little better), 1/4 cup of feta cheese.  Once all this was pureed and crumbly, I turned the food processor on full power and streamed in what was somewhere between 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup olive oil--just enough to bind everything together and make it creamy.

Next I cooked a pot of about 8 oz of pasta, drained it (except for 1/4 cup of pasta water) and then put it back in the pot.  I added in the pesto and bit of water and mixed.  Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

A Love of Potatoes

I have to confess, I LOVE potatoes.  For a long time I really didn't think much about them.  I occasionally ate a baked potato and at Thanksgiving always made baked sweet potatoes, but that was about it.  Then, in my Gourmet Today cookbook, I found a recipe for olive oil glazed potatoes.  They were amazing!  After that I started cooking potatoes once a week at least.  Roasted potatoes, baked potatoes, homemade french fries...the BF's potato hash...  It's not just the potatoes that are fabulous; the combination of spices, potatoes and dipping sauces are what make potato dishes fabulous.

The roasted potatoes are my favorite and I have been trying to perfect them for some time.  Finally, with a little help from Tyler Florence (for cooking temp and time) I think I have my recipe down.  You can use any combination of spices that you want, but this is what I did tonight:

Cut one potato in half lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters.  You should have 8 pieces.  Put some (a few tablespoons) of olive oil on a plate or in a large bowl and toss the potatoes in it.  On a plate, mix 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp chili powder and 1/8 tsp cayenne (or more if you like things spicy).  Mix the spices well, then lightly dip each side of each potato wedge in the mixture.  Rub it on so that it gets all over.  Line a toaster oven pan (or regular oven pan if you don't have a toaster oven) with aluminum foil and place the wedges so that they are sitting up on the pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for at least 30 minutes.  Check them every 10 or so, especially if you are cooking them in a regular oven.  Don't take them out until you see the outsides of the potatoes start to get brown and a little bubbly.

I like to dip mine in homemade ranch dressing...but use whatever you like!  They are fabulous!

And if you haven't checked it out yet, be sure to visit A Farmer in the Dell--a blog of life on Ralph Waldo Emerson's Farm

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup--penny's version

I'm making this this weekend...not sure why I'm craving soup in August, but I am, so I'm making it. I actually leave the noodles out completely, but it's good either way.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
Ingredients
2-3 chicken breasts or hindquarter pieces (or a combo)
2 quarts water
1 bunch spinach (optional)
3 jalapenos, sliced
1-1/2 c chopped purple cabbage
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1-2 c sliced mushrooms
juice of 1 lime
1 or 2 cans of coconut milk (I use light coconut milk)
1 heaping tsp of curry powder
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1/2 lb fettucini or Phad Thai noodles

Instructions
Boil the chicken in a big pot in 2 quarts water until done. When done, take the meat out, keep the stock. Strain the fat off the top if there is any. Cook the noodles in the stock, but get them out of the pot with a slotted spoon when done. Add to the stock pot the mushrooms, jalapenos, cabbage, and spices (including fish sauce) and bring to a boil. Shred the chicken and add to the soup mixture. Add coconut milk, lime juice, noodles, spinach and cilantro. Heat until hot, but don't boil forever or the spinach will turn to mush.

You can really do anything you want with this...just chicken and noodle, just chicken, add different veggies...add shrimp...it has lots of possibilities!

Plagued by pain and frustration

First, let's get one thing straight: Mountain biking is my favorite sport. I love the challenge of it, I love how easy it is to see success and I love how, this year, I'm not crashing! Still...running has become my second favorite sport. I love to run alone on long runs, and I love running trails with Lynn and Elissa. There's something about just running and meeting each and every goal along the way that gets in your blood...the endorphins kick in, the adrenaline gets going, and you just feel so ecstatic...it's crazy and it feels wonderful.

It feels wonderful until, like me, you wake up the day after a long run with aching hips or shin splints...you get a sore knees 2/3 of the way through a run, or and this is the most bizarre, you wake up in the middle of the night with pain from a strained PELVIC JOINT. Yes. It's happened to me. Right now I'm dealing with some sort of tendonitis on the outside of my left ankle. It was getting better after 3 days of rest and then, like any runner, I went running. Let me stress that while running, my ankle did not hurt. I thought well great! It's getting better! Oh no. It was just toying with me. I woke up this morning and the pain was back, just as bad as Monday. Ibuprofen, ice, elevation...all seem to help a little, but MAN walking is painful. This is my foot, at my desk, in a slightly awkward position with a giant piece of ice under my ankle.



Look I understand that in running injuries are going to happen. I get that. It's a lot of pounding and blah blah blah. But do I have to get EVERY injury? Granted I only get them very briefly (the issue with my IT band lasted 2 runs), but still. It's frustrating when I want to train for the half-marathons and I can't.

On the other hand, it's a good excuse to go for some long bike rides! Maybe this weekend I'll bike here:


(Thanks for posing Tomas :))

I guess I just needed to rant. I've got a big bike trip coming up and more than anything I do not want this ankle to still be hurting. So I'll be good and I'll rest it and I'll sit at my desk in bizarre positions so I can ice it. Better to take a few days off now than a month off later.

Strawberry-Apricot Margaritas & Mahi-Mahi Lettuce Wraps

**I did not follow this recipe exactly. My substitutions are in italics! So this is my half-empty glass of strawberry-apricot margarita. It is refreshing and wonderfully cold in this 101 degree heat!

Strawberry-Apricot margaritas (originally just apricot margaritas)

1 & 1/2 cups of fresh apricots halved and pitted (or strawberries, or peaches, or any mix of these)
1/2 cup of tequila (or a little more)
2 tbsp of triple sec
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of apricot nectar (what I did as a sort of substitution for both of these was combine about 3 tbsp of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. I heated it on the stove until the sugar melted and then let it cool. I then added this to the blender.)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice or margarita mix
Fill the blender the rest of the way with ice. Blend until smooth. Of course you may need to adjust this to your taste with added sugar, tequila or fruit.

Mahi-Mahi Lettuce Wraps

For the fish: You can use Mahi-Mahi, Salmon, or even Tuna. Marinate the fish in a teriyaki marinade for about an hour. Grill over direct heat for approximately 5 minutes on each side or until it flakes easily. Flake it all apart on a plate or at least chop it up some so it's easy to put on your lettuce leaves.

For the condiments: You'll need easily wrappable lettuce leaves like the upper half of romaine leaves, butter or Bibb lettuce. Green leaf will work too.

Then create a plate of toppings like thinly sliced snow or sugar snap peas, cole slaw mix, onion, cilantro, and/or jalapeno.

If you can find it, mix some spicy peanut sauce with soy sauce for a great dipping sauce. Just plain soy will work too, or you can make your own mix with soy sauce, a little peanut butter thinned with water, and some cayenne pepper for spice.

Then you just assemble everything in a lettuce leaf and enjoy!