Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category

Cayenne Chili Rubbed Chicken Tostada with Avocado Salsa

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

Happy Cinqo de Mayo!  You don’t have to read my blog and/or twitter much to know, I eat a lot of Mexican food.  I don’t know when it started, but I’ve always had a craving for some refried beans, a little cheese, and red onions.  When I went to Colorado Springs over the weekend, I was at one of my favorite taco stands every other day, munching on delicious flour tortillas.  Now, I’m back at home, thinking up food concoctions.

When I make food, I have an easily distracted mind.  I generally need to have a few notes scribbled down to keep me going, especially on Post-Its.  I love Post-Its and i have a pretty nice system:

Though this is an easy recipe, it has a few elements, so it might seems a little complicated.  The good part is each element can easily be paired with other food to make a completely different Mexican meal.

Chicken Tostada Ingredients:
Developed from Martha Stewart’s Simply Recipes
(serves two – takes about twenty minutes)

Four small flour tortillas
Refried beans
Cayenne Chili Rubbed Chicken
Avacado Salsa

Refried Beans
One clove of garlic, minced
One can of black or pinto beans, drained
Two teaspoons of chili powder
One teaspoon of cumin
A few pinches of salt and pepper
Half a red onion, chopped

Start by making the refried beans.  Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a saucepan.  Add garlic and heat for about a minute.  Add the beans.  Stir and smash the beans.  Let cook for a few minutes then give another stir and keep smashing.  Continue until desired consistency and add seasoning and red onion.  After about ten minutes, lower heat until ready to serve.

Cayenne Chili Rubbed Chicken
One chicken breast (about three ounces)
Two teaspoons of chili powder
One teaspoon of cayenne (if you want spicier go ahead)
Olive oil

Rub chicken down with the chili powder and cayenne.  Heat pan and add olive oil.  Add chicken.  Cook for about three minutes on each side or until cooked all the way through, slightly blackened.  Let rest for a couple minutes then slice.

Avacado Salsa
1/2 red onion, chopped
avacado, cut into medium sized chunks
2 T of lime

Combine lime and onion.  At the last minute, fold in avocado.  Serve.

Assembling the Tostada

Heat the flour tortillas about fifteen seconds on each side in a clean sauce pan.  Put a layer of beans, another warm tortilla, then a layer of beans.  Top with a few slices of chicken, some cheese and the avocado salsa.

Posted in Cooking, Recipes | 1 Comment »

Pork Belly Tacos

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

There are a couple tweets you may have noticed on Saturday.

First, I tweeted about a squirrel.  A squirrel ate my garden.  Many of my herbs and my peas were saved, but the spinach and lettuce– devoured by Jerk Squirrels.  Looks like I will rely on local farmers to get some vegetables.  Jerk. Squirrels.  I’m not against wearing your fur (but only specifically yours.)

Then there was the other, odder tweet. I was on a mini-quest for pork belly.  Though I’ve had plenty of bacon in my lifetime, I wasn’t very familiar with uncured bacon aka pork belly.  Apparently it isn’t too popular with my meat guy, so it took a week since he had to look through his private stash.  I love knowing the hands that raised the pigs, chicken, and beef I eat.  When I went to pick up my pork belly, my meat guy was just setting up shop.  He looked at me frantically and said, “This is usually $9.50 a pound, but if you go park my UHAUL, I’ll give it to you for $6.50.”

It was actually only a six passenger van and though I rarely drive, I managed to park it without drama.

I’m still upset about the squirrel but currently my belly is full of delicious pork belly which softens the blow of my anger.

Grab some roasted pork belly.  I put about two pounds in the oven at 325 degrees for an hour plus with some salt and pepper a few days before hand.  It was pre-sliced and the first night I made pork belly sliders.  For the tacos, I warmed it up in a skillet with cumin, chili powder and pepper.  I put some hot refried black beans– just cook a can of black beans (drained) on a very low burner with a tablespoon of butter, a couple tablespoons of water, cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder, crushing and stirring frequently for about twenty minutes.  I added some shredded lettuce and tomatoes.  Warm the tortilla in a hot pan for about ten seconds a side.  Put all the ingredients in and serve!  Nomnomnom!

Posted in Cooking, Pork, Recipes | 2 Comments »

Pulled Pork without a Slow Cooker or Dutch Oven

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Though I could fill my house wall-to-wall with electronic devices, I think gadgets have no place in the kitchen.  Before I purchase any item, I think about how many uses it has.  Where it would live.  How much it would cost to ship if I move.  How often I would use it.  My logical side has snubbed me of almost every device I’ve thought would be fun to have, leaving me with things like a kitchen scale, a mixer, and a mandoline.  Though they both have passed most of my tests, I cannot ever get past the weight and bulkiness of a slow cooker and/or Dutch Oven.  Seeing as I do live with three other people with a well outfitted kitchen, I could never justify owning either.

Spring is in full force now.  My friends are on their allergy medications, and I just came in from my first meal outside.  I sipped a great beer, ate some home cooked Mexican food (recipe coming soon), and watched ants crawl along the wall on my back patio.  I was completely relaxed, because I knew it’s about that time when the temperature will drop at night and nothing will be as great as some pulled pork or brisket and me, without a slow cooker or dutch oven, will be able to cook it.

If you are cooking this ahead of time, I would suggest doing the initial cooking when you have time, refridgerate/freeze (just be sure to leave time for a slow thaw) and wait until about two hours before it’s needed to cook the meat in your choice of sauce.

Pulled Pork:
(serves a pound a person | takes overnight marinating, 4-7 hours cooking, but 10-15 minutes active time)

pork shoulder with plenty of fattiness (the white lines)
olive oil
1 clove of garlic per pound
1/2 onion chopped per pound
two healthy pinches of salt and pepper per pound
one cup of vegetable, pork, or chicken broth per pound
one cup of water per pound (may need more)

The night before cooking, smother the pork with salt and pepper (I use other spices depending on what I’m making.  i.e. if iti’s going to be used for Mexican food, I use chili powder as well) and massage it well into the pork.  Pour a generous glug of olive oil onto the first side, rub.  Repeat for the other side.  Place in a large freezer bag and keep in the fridge about eight-twelve hours before cooking.

On cooking day, fill a pot with garlic, onion, spices, broth and water.  Stir well.  Turn the burner on medium and add pork.  Make sure the pork is well covered with water (if it has a lot of fat, it will float to the top and that’s fine.) Bring to a simmer for a couple minutes.  Turn heat to low and cover.  Cook for anywhere between 3-6 hours (depending on how big the shoulder is) until you are able to shred with two forks.  Remove from the pot, empty the water.  Shred meat with two forks.

At this point, either reserve the meat for future use or add sauce and cook on low covered for another hour, stirring occasionally.  Taste, season, serve!

Keep this technique in mind as I have a handful of great recipes using pulled pork and brisket!

Posted in Pork, Recipes | 2 Comments »

Noodle Party! Jap Chae! EXCLAMATION POINTS!

Monday, March 29th, 2010

You may notice I love a certain punctuation mark that many people avoid like the plague.  Though I can drop a semicolon like it’s hot, my punctuation of choice is the ever so lovely exclamation point!  I know it can grate on the nerves, but personally, I love it.  When I read about passionate people in their art, I get disappointed if they stifle their excitement.  I enjoy candor, casualty, creativity, and alliteration (threw you for a loop there, didn’t I?)!  In person, I get just as excited and silly about things.  I laugh loudly, I pretty much smile until my cheeks hurt, and I dance.  Oh, I dance and I have so many dances… especially revolving food.  So, when I read Steph’s “About” on Momofuku for 2, I could only ask her, “Do you have a noodle dance?”  Just to check if I wasn’t the only one…

And I’m not. So Steph, Shao from Fried Wontons for You, and I decided to throw a little party to bring together other noodle lovers!

This time we played with dangmyeon noodles, made from sweet potato starch, and also referred to as “glass noodles.”  At first they don’t look like much, but they’re slurpy and they wiggle once cooked.  Taste wise, I’ve always found them neutral.  They are perfect to adapt a dance around.

Also, I’m super excited, because this is the first time I’ll be posting a traditional, Korean recipe handed directly to me from my mother!  See, I made the ever so traditional Korean dish: Jap Chae!

I love the Korean language, its simplicity is astounding.  Jap Chae is translated to “a mixture of vegetables,” because Jap Chae origins come from super thin cut veggies and only evolved into the dish I’m sharing later.  It’s a great, light dish packed full of nutrients.  My mother actually serves this at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners since Jap Chae squeezes in a few power veggies like mushrooms, spinach, and carrots in an interesting way.  Now I have a supply of dangmyeon noodles, I’m sure I’ll be using them when I make a “leftover stir fry” (when I grab everything I need to use soon and make gobs of stir fry or fried rice.)

Make sure you check out the other noodle party participants and watch out on twitter and this blog to see when the next noodle party you can participate in!

Jap Chae
serves four as a whole meal, more as a multi-course | takes about twenty minutes prep (not including time to curse at your brand new mandoline) and ten minutes to cook.

two bales of glass noodles/dangmyeon
1T of cooking oil
2 tsp of sesame oil (separated)
1 small onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic
3 medium carrots, julienned (I used heirloom carrots that’s why they’re so many colors!)
about 1/2 c of mushrooms (I used two portabello mushrooms, you can also use dried mushrooms, just make sure you rehydrate them)
1/2 lb of fresh spinach
2 glugs of soy sauce
a few pinches of sugar (to taste.)

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Throw in the noodles and cook for about five minutes.  Drain, rinse with cold water then toss one tsp of sesame oil in the noodles to prevent sticking.  You can cut them into shorter pieces at this point (though I can hear my mom in the background, “Cutting noodles shortens your life!”*) then put to the side.

In a wok or large sautee pan, add cooking oil over high heat, swirl to coat.  Once the oil is very hot, fry onions and carrots for about one minute (not much longer) then add garlic and mushrooms for about thirty seconds.  Add spinach until just wilted then soy sauce, sugar, and noodles.  Fry for about two to three minutes then remove from heat.  You can toss sesame seeds in if you’d like.  At this point, I let it cool and serve it cold, but you can also eat it warm.

* – this is not a death threat from my mother.

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Posted in Korean, Noodles, Recipes | 15 Comments »

Cleaning Out the Fridge + Noodle Party + Pineapple Fried Rice: OH MY!

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Today, Philadelphia smells amazing.

I hope that shocked you into reading yet another post.  I’m not joking about the smell.  I’ve decided the first day of spring is my new favorite day of the year.  Everyone can have my birthday, Christmas, and Thanksgiving, well maybe not Thanksgiving. . . but the first day of spring is MY kind of holiday.

In honor of spring, I’m shaking the dust off of recipes I haven’t written down before I go on vacation and forget everything.  I’m cleaning out the fridge, so excuse me as I clog your RSS feed for a couple days.  I could stagger these posts, but I have good reason to publish this immediately.

Today, I woke up and was just done with being inside.  After hitting the farmer’s market early, Ed and I wandered around the entire city, meeting up with a couple friends and moseying on home.  I came home exhausted, flopped on my bed, and debated dinner for the zillionth time (I’m thinking Quinoa burgers) when I got a quick call from Linzy.  I made this rice on Tuesday and it was a hit at a dinner party I attended.  Linzy was already craving more!

Speaking of eating with friends. . .

MARCH 2009: NOODLE PARTY

A couple noodlemaniac twitter friends, Steph at momofukufor2.com (@momofukufor2) and Shao at friedwontons4u.com (@friedwontons4u) are organizing a little virtual shindig, specifically geared to NOODLES!  We’re each going to be taking some Korean sweet potato noodles (dangmyeong), making a dish and posting them!   You can participate too!  Check this little invite Steph wrote up:

Who: Everyone!

What: We’re all making noodle dishes using dangmyeong, Korean sweet potato glass noodles.

When: Noodle Party posts are going up on March 29th.

Where: Your blog, our blogs. Your twitter, whatever you got.

Why: So we can all dance the noodle dance together! People who join the party will get a Noodle Party badge for their site and of course, as always, everlasting fame!

How: Just give one of us a shout on our blog contact forms, leave a comment, or hit us up on Twitter!  I’m @bigscarykitchen!

Now on to the recipe!

Hints about fried rice:

1.  Always start with cold rice.  If you are in a time crunch, put freshly cooked rice in a big bowl, stir around to let the heat escape then stick it in the fridge.  Prepare the other ingredients and toss the rice a little to cool it.

2.  Cook the ingredients separately and make sure everything is ready before you start cooking.  This cooks up fast.  Use high heat.  Make sure the pan is heat.  Don’t be tempted to constantly move the rice around though.  If you don’t have much room in the pan, cook in groups.

Pineapple Fried Rice
serves six | prep time is about 10 minutes and ten minutes of cooking time

Four cups of long-grain rice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
A cup (or more if you like) of pineapple, sliced into small pieces
1 T of fish sauce
1 teaspoon of soy sauce (or more to taste)
1/2 T of pineapple juice
2 T of oil
ground pepper to taste

Heat up wok or frying pan and add cooking oil (remember high heat is important).  Add garlic and onion and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Add rice, pineapple pieces, pineapple juice, and stir to distribute evenly.  Add fish sauce and dark soy sauce to blend well with rice. Stir-fry for another minute or so, add pepper to taste and serve.

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Posted in Cooking, Recipes, Rice | 2 Comments »

Cilantro-Lime Roast Chicken with Rice

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

I’m a big old quitter.

Yup, I went out and I ate cheese and some toast a day early.  It was just too nice to snub a drink with friends.  Sorry detox, but sitting outside and eating are my two favorite things.  I caved in and got a quality beer, a couple slices of cheese, and a four slices of tiny toast.

Mm… I’m okay with quitting earlier than planned.  It’s barely a day and the last thing I want to do is go into some sort of coma after stuffing my face at the Bellagio buffet.  I didn’t eat anything super greasy or bad, and for that I’m proud of.  I didn’t realize I would make it this far, but 48 cupcakes and four loaves of bread later, I am free of some of my food dependence.

Now, I have a few more detox meals to post and this is one of them.  Yeaaah, it’s Mexican which I’m finding can be very flavorful without being high sugar and fats.  If you’re looking for an easy crowd pleaser, this is definitely a go to recipe.  IT’s even easy clean up– ONE pan!  One pan!

Cilantro-Lime Roasted Chicken
serves 4 | 5 minutes prep and 40 minutes cooking time

1 chicken (about three pounds) cut into six pieces, defrosted and deskinned
2 T of olive oil
1t of chile powder
1t of ground cumin
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
1t of salt
1t of black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c of fresh cilantro, chopped
8  shallots, halved

Preheat the the oven to 425.

Chop the chicken and remove skin.  Place in a baking pan that fits everything in one layer snuggly (I used a 9×13 pan)  Add everything into the pan toss, coating everything well.  Toss the pan into oven, it’s okay if the oven is not completely pre-heated.  Cook the chicken for about twenty minutes, turn the chicken around and leave it in the oven for twenty more minutes.  Once chicken is done, turn off the oven and serve!

Lime-Cilantro Rice

I used a rice cooker, so when I made the rice, I put the juice of a lime in with the cooking water.  Once done, throw in a quarter cup of fresh cilantro and a couple pinches of salt and pepper!

Posted in Chicken, Cooking, Detoxing, Recipes, Rice | 1 Comment »

Black Bean Espresso Chili

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

I’ve lost my voice.

It’s been less than 24 hours, yes, but I love my voice.  I use my voice often.  I need my voice for fun activities, like doing an impression of Toad from the Super Mario Brothers Games or singing Death Metal Karaoke and Metal Rock Band.

Ok, so you have me up against the wall and I will admit– I savagely abuse my voice.

The saddest part of losing my voice is always my laugh.  I laugh a lot.  I laugh loud.  I laugh at almost everything.  I make myself laugh.  Right now, the sounds I make are more squeaks and raspy breaths and it’s really cramping my style.

On the other hand, my father, a retired military man, is a very serious man.  Growing up, my siblings and I always tried to get him to crack a smile or join us in a silly game.  He rarely laughed.  As we got older, suddenly I started finding my dad hilarious and he started laughing more.  Now, talking to him I have more gut busting moments than watching one of my favorite comedies.  I found that his dry sense of humor has not changed, I just grew into it.  It’s a lot like chili.

See, one of the five things my father cooks in our family is chili.  Being the strange man that he is, he claims it’s the best chili ever.  It contains cans of kidney beans, ground beef, chili powder and a secret ingredient I can neither remember nor do I believe it is secret anymore.  It’s a fairly simple recipe with deep flavor and best topped with cheese and served with corn bread.  I remember it was always slightly too spicy.  It takes four hours to make.  Sitting and typing this, I can taste the chili, it’s that ingrained in my memories.

Sometimes, I crave chili, but as I’ve gotten older and more interested in cooking (and maybe once recently I ate chili from the same restaurant twice in two days), I’ve lost interest in chili.  What’s so great about it?  It’s has loads of fat in it and, I say this as a true meat lover don’t get me wrong, it has all that beef that makes you feel gross afterwards.  And then I came across this recipe.

Like my father’s sense of humor, chili can grow up.  It can be a little different, but just as delicious.  It’s a great meal, high protein, and packed with tomatoes.  This is not a traditional Texas chili, but, and I will touch on this time and time again, I don’t think there should be only one way to make a recipe like chili.  There are just too many great combinations.

This is a vegetarian chili.  The espresso powder adds the rich flavor helping with the lack of ground beef.  I really didn’t miss the beef in this recipe.  It’s very similar to a traditional chili recipe in that this chili is best very slowly cooked and is even better as it sits in the fridge.  Also, just a tip, I tried to find the highest quality of canned tomatoes I could find which made a huge difference.  I put some grilled chicken on top, but it isn’t necessary.

Black Bean Espresso Chili
serves four generous portions | preparation time is about twenty minutes and total time about an hour

1/4 cup olive oil
3 onions, chopped
1/8 cup instant espresso powder
1/8 cup ground paprika
1/8 cup  ground oregano
1/8 cup ground cumin
1 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons honey
3 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups cooked black beans OR mixture of beans OR 3 15-ounce cans of beans
1 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tsp of pepper
Chili oil to taste
Pinch of ground cinnamon

Heat a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Add onions and sauté until translucent.

Mix in the espresso powder, paprika, oregano, and cumin and cook for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, honey and garlic. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the beans, the water, salt, pepper, chili oil and cinnamon. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered and stirring often, for about 30 minutes, or until mixture thickens a bit more.  Serve and enjoy.

Posted in Cooking, Recipes | No Comments »

Quinoa & Lentil Salad: A Story About Quinoa

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

I went on a new adventure last night, readers.  I have a pretty good running list of what I can and cannot eat in my brain at all times.  As John and I combed Trader Joe’s aisles last week, I noticed something funny.  The aisles I usually spend the most time in, the cheese, the crackers, the frozen stuff, I quickly whisked by without a second glance.  Maybe I couldn’t bear to tempt myself, but all I could hear in my head was, “Healthy choices.  Healthy choices.”  As I moved on, I found myself enthralled with rice and grains.

I took each package off the shelf, shifted it in my hands, read the ingredients (my latest good habit) and its story, because all good food has a story of where it came from, and thought about what I could make with it, and what would have a similar taste to my favorite meals.  My sister says that I always have a lot of information but no answers.  This is the perfect example.

After ten minutes of pondering (and a few face scrunches from John), I decided it didn’t matter what I chose, aside from wild rice I had no clue as to what would taste like what.  I grabbed quinoa which I always wanted to play with since I seem to read a lot about it, but have never eaten before.

According to the box and various sources, quinoa is a South American grain and a primary food source in Colombia.  It’s high in protein and fiber plus gluten-free.  It’s a relatively new grain to the US, only introduced in 1982.  I have a feeling it will soon spread like wildfire.

I’m slightly sick (did I tell you I was one of the boys this weekend?  well, one of the boys was sick.) but to me quinoa tastes like a mix between white rice and couscous but acts like tofu.  It really soaks up whatever it’s meshed with.  Have I confused you yet?  When it’s cooked it has little tails, so maybe it’s not too kid friendly, if your kids have a problem with eating things that look funny.

A few people have told me they didn’t like the consistency, but I actually enjoyed it.  One theory I have is the person cooking the quinoa did not wash it first or did not cook it thoroughly.   An important note as given to me by the box and Best Food Blog Ever, always wash quinoa as it has a dry husk around it.  Just measure out whatever you plan on using, rinse it under cold water, drain, then use.

I used a few different recipes to come up with this one, so I don’t have source.  This salad really turned out with a nice pesto-like taste.  Since it’s high in protein and fiber, you don’t need any meat to go with it, but there are many options.  Last night, I grilled some chicken to go with it, or today I ate it as leftovers with my sweet potato puree, baby carrots, and sugar snap peas.  This won’t be the last you see of quinoa on this blog.  Not only because I found it fun, but because I have a lot left in the box.

Quinoa & Lentil Salad
serves 6 | about ten minutes of prep and takes about twenty minutes overall

1 cup lentils (I used regular green lentils)
1 cup quinoa (I used white quinoa)
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
1/4 cup of parsley, finely chopped
the juice of half a lemon*
S&P to taste

First rinse lentils under cold water. In a small saucepan add enough water to cover the lentils by at least 2 inches, add 1 tsp salt and simmer until tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes.  Take your time on simmering the lentils or they will mash up, as seen in my pictures.

In another saucepan, place the rinsed quinoa, 2 cups water and 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook until all water is absorbed, (after about ten minutes you can take the cover off and check them, but it will most likely take closer to 12-15 minutes).  You’ll know it’s fully cooked when you see little tails!

Once lentils are done drain and free them into a large serving bowl.  Toss a couple shakes of salt and pepper to taste and let the lentils cool, stir occasionally.

While lentils cool and quinoa cook, throw the garlic, olive oil, basil, parsley, and lemon juice into a mini food processor.  Process well then add to the lentils.  Stir it up, baby!

Once quinoa is cooked and slightly cooled, add to the lentil mix.

You can either wait until it’s completely cool or you serve warm.  Both ways are excellent!

* originally I wrote “squeeze half a lemon” with no direction whatsoever.  If you so choose, you may squeeze the other half of the lemon into your garbage disposal to make it smell nice.

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Posted in Cooking, Grains, Recipes | 2 Comments »

Ginger Sweet Potato Puree

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

HELLO WORLD, the weather in Philadelphia is finally warm.  Oh warmer, warmer weather.  I celebrated at ten degrees warmer.  Now, it’s up to a lovely 50 degrees and walking outside is not only bearable it’s lovely lovely lovely!  John held a BBQ at his house in honor of the weather.  Since I’m still on my detox, I knew I had to grab a few things for myself.  With the nice weather, we went to the farmers’ market and for once, I did a few laps rather than jet in and out.  The vendors even ran out of items and my usual herb shopping was put off until next week.

The funny thing is, having visited the farmers’ market for the past few weeks, the farmers have begun to recognize me.  As I was talking over the potatoes (still off limits for the detox) with a farmer, his friend came over excitedly and said, “I’ve seen you here at the market, I’m so excited you’re buying from us today.”  It made me blush and I knew I had no choice but to grab four pounds of delicious sweet potatoes.  The lady farmer said, “well, one will make you an entire pie.”

“Oh no, I have much bigger plans.”

We ended up grilling more food than anyone has ever needed.  Lots of burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and Korean bulgogi was had.  I stuck pretty well to my diet (I may have eaten more meat than I’m supposed to.) and managed to eat my weight in grilled vegetables and pineapple.  I didn’t even eat my latest batch of cupcakes.  That was tough, since I hung out with all of my boys.  Each of which had at least two cupcakes or more.  (There was no competition, but Tim won.  He at six.)

And damn, those cupcakes look gooooooood.

With my four pounds of potatoes in hand, I played with some of my favorite flavors to make detox-friendly side dish.  This can be made into a soup, but I’m kind of a fan of purees, it saves a few calories for a great consistency.  Additionally, if you’re reading this Jeff, it is a great side dish especially with the kick of ginger.


Ginger Sweet Potato Puree

serves six | prep time about ten minutes and takes about forty minutes overall

One T or glug of EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
Three cloves of garlic, chopped
Two medium onions, chopped
A chunk of ginger (about an inch long, sliced in three pieces as pictured and crushed with the end of the knife to give flavor)
Three pounds of sweet potatoes cut into two inch pieces
Five cups of water or chicken broth
One teaspoon of pumpkin pie seasoning (or a little of cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice)
Salt and pepper TT
One T of honey (optional)
A few T of brown sugar (optional)

In a large pot and over medium-high heat, throw in a glug of EVOO.  Let heat for a minute or two then add the chopped onions. Once translucent, add garlic and heat for another minute or so.

Add sweet potatoes, ginger, and water/broth (it should cover the sweet potatoes, if it doesn’t add more– I really eyeballed it.) and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium low and boil water until sweet potatoes are soft about twenty to thirty minutes (like mashed potatoes.)  Drain the ‘taters.

Remove the ginger chunks and toss.  Blend the mix, if you use a food processor for this part, careful since it’s hot it will expand and might explode.  Once pureed well, add pumpkin pie seasoning, salt, pepper and (if you choose, it’s not detox friendly, but adds a sweetness, the honey and brown sugar.)  Serve.

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Posted in Cooking, Detoxing, Recipes, Soup | No Comments »

Dinner from a Package

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

There are quite a few things that will make you stop and think, “Maybe I should be eating lighter and healthier.”

Today, I bought my first swimsuit in years. It’s cute, vintage-looking, and hopefully will be flattering on me (I ordered it online.) You will also never see a picture of me in it on this blog, so please refrain from any comments. I’m headed to Las Vegas in late March with my good friend Lauren for my first vacation since 2007. We’re very excited and we hope to escape the cold to soak in some sun (with about eight billion coats of sunscreen.)

So tonight, when my planned dinner was cancelled due to snow, I contemplated all the wonderful things I could eat. Leftovers or a quesadilla, something simple, when the doorbell rang.

John & Josephine
My dear John had stopped by to kill some time before going home. He has an hour commute and I could tell he was tired and just wanted to space out before heading home. As he sat, asking about my day and if I knew how to make gyoza, I knew I would be feeding two now, so I decided to cook dinner the quickest way I knew how– from the package. Start to finish, 20 minutes.

I’m not big on substituting names or using nicknames and I ask every person before I shove their face on my blog (aside from Adrian who forfeited his right when he took pictures of himself with my camera). These are the people in my life. They’re adorable and pretty and I love them all and I want you to see their faces and want to squeeze them like I get to do every day.

So, without further adieu, a light dinner in 20 minutes from a package with less sodium and more filling than a Lean Cuisine. Additionally, this is so versatile, I can’t even begin to think of all the combinations you could do. You can substitute any fish or seafood for the salmon, add more and/or different soft vegetabls, and play around with the herbs.


Dill Lemon Salmon with Rosemary Rice

Salmon Dinner:
1 filet of salmon per person (about 6 oz each)
1/2 zucchini, cut up into fourths per person
3-4 big pinches of dried dill
splash of white wine
salt and pepper
1/2 lemon
*special tools: parchment paper*

Preheat oven to 450
Take two sheets of parchment paper, one on top of the other, and sprinkle a pinch of dill. Place salmon on top (I cook two pieces of filet per package). Sprinkle bit of salt, pepper, and dill.
Place the zucchini on the salmon, sprinkle a bit of salt, pepper, and dill.
Fold the parchment paper together across the filets of salmon. Pinch tightly.
Tightly roll and flatten the other two sides of the parchment paper. (I got this tip from Steamy Kitchen where there is also an excellent video.)
Open the package carefully and pour about a Tablespoon of white wine.
Refold the package tightly and stick in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on how thick the salmon filets are.
Open package (yeah, you can’t eat the parchment, sorry.), serve the fish and throw away the parchment.

Rosemary Rice Pilaf
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A couple pinches of dried rosemary
1 1/4 cup of rice
1 3/4 of chicken broth
A couple pinches of salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Throw in dried rosemary and garlic until pungent.
Add rice, salt, and pepper for about a minute.
Crank the heat to high, pour in the rest of the chicken broth and mix everything a little, make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once it boils vigorously, cover and turn the heat to low.
Do not remove the saucepan lid. Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Then you can take off the lid and fluff that rice.

Congratulations, you’ve made rice without a rice cooker!

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