Brown Lentil Soup w/Rosemary

This easy, inexpensive soup is perfect for lunch, and smells really good as it cooks.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
1 cup of dried brown lentils, rinsed
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 tbs. minced fresh rosemary)
1 tsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Preparation:
1. Cut up the veggies. Chop up the onion, thinly slice the carrots and celery.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
3. Add the veggies to the pot, heating for a few minutes (and stirring often) until softened a bit.
4. Add 4 cups of water, plus the lentils, the bay leaf, the rosemary, and the red wine vinegar. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for ~ a half hour, until lentils are tender.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaf.

Enjoy with crusty bread or toast.

Slow cooker cranberry pork chops

This recipe incorporates 4 of my favorite things in life: pork, cranberry sauce, the slow cooker, and incredibly easy food prep.

Ingredients:
4 pork chops (~ 2 1/2 lbs of meat)
16 oz. bag of frozen stew vegetables
16 oz. can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup chili sauce

To make:
1. Place chops in slow cooker.
2. Put frozen veggies in cooker on top of meat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together cranberry sauce and chili sauce.
4. Pour sweet-n-spicy mixture over food in pot.
5. Cook on low ~8 hours or high ~3 1/2 hours.

If you're into grains, this would probably be good with white rice.

The 1/4 cup chili sauce adds a little kick to the sweet-tartness of the cranberry sauce. I can definitely handle the added heat, though it does prevent me from devouring the pork as quickly as I might like. Next time I might try this one with half as much chili sauce...

Slow cooker chicken and sweet potatoes

Another easy comfort dinner made in the slow cooker.

Ingredients:
~2 lbs chicken thighs and drumsticks
4 or 5 medium-large sweet potatoes
3/4 cup honey mustard salad dressing
1 tsp crushed dried rosemary

Preparation:
Peel and quarter sweet potatoes, place in slow cooker.
Remove skin from chicken, place in cooker over yams.
Mix rosemary and dressing in a bowl, pour over chicken and sweet potatoes.
Cook on high 3 1/2 hours.

Makes enough for 3 or 4 dinners. When the chicken was almost done, I steamed some green beans to have on the side.

salmon tossed with penne and arugula

Another easy one, though it does require multiple pots and pans.

Ingredients:

~ 1/2 lb salmon fillet (skin removed)
~ 2 cups dry penne (I used mezze, maybe use more if you're using bigger penne)
~ 3 fistfuls of arugula
1 tsp lemon juice
a bay leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
~ 3 tbsp chives

To make:

Prepare the pasta. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add penne and cook according to package directions. After it's done to your liking, drain.

Meanwhile

Prepare the salmon. Place fillet in a pot and add water till salmon is covered, then toss in a bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until salmon is cooked through. Remove salmon from water and flake it up with a fork.

When those two parts are done

Mix up all the hot stuff. Put 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add the drained pasta and salmon, and toss it in the oil with a spatula. Add a splash of lemon juice and a few shakes of salt. Mix it all up for a minute or two over the heat.

Then to finish

Mix up the green stuff with the hot stuff. Put the salmon/penne mix into a large serving bowl. Add chives and arugula, toss.

Eat!

string beans for snacking

This is going to be a stupidly simple post, but it might help Maryam and I have confirmation from Marcos that string bean made this way are delicious (he had some of mine and asked how I prepared them). At any rate, here's how to make a pile of string beans that you can tote around all day and snack on, so you can feel like you're getting some vegetables even when you're on the run.

• start heating a big covered pot of slightly salted water on the stove
  
• wash a bunch of string beans and break off the stem ends
  
• when the water is boiling, add the string beans, and then immediately....
  
• cover the pot, and turn off the heat
  
• set a timer for 2 minutes
  
• when the timer goes off, drain the beans in a strainer
  
• rinse the beans in cold water until the beans are no longer warm (about 1 min.)
  

That's it. I follow this plan precisely because it results in beans that are cooked just enough so that they have a little snap but aren't too raw (I hate raw vegetables). I have a gas stove, so if you have an electric stove, you might have to decrease the hot-water-soaking-time.

Classy Ramen

Between getting home from Philly and leaving again for rehearsal the other day, I had ~30 min to make and prepare dinner, with not much in the way of fresh dinner food. I did, however, have a pack of chicken-flavor Top Ramen. Every so often I get a hankering for the cheap salty goodness of ramen noodles, but to feel a little more wholesome about it I class 'em up with proteiny and vegetabley add-ins. The latest version:

1 package chicken-flavor ramen noodles
2 eggs
~ 1/2 cup of frozen edamame (unshelled)
~ 1/2 cup of leftover cooked spinach

Preparation:
Bring a few cups of water to boil in a pot.
Add ramen noodle brick. Boil for a minute or so to soften.
Crack two eggs into boiling water.
Add frozen edamame to boiling mixture.
Add spinach.
Cook for another couple of minutes.
Add contents of delicious, MSG-laden flavor packet.
Drain off half of the liquid (depending on how soupy you like your noodles).

Slurp down.

Other things I've mixed into ramen: leftover cooked chicken or pork, broccoli, seitan. Please feel free to comment with your own ideas for ramen enhancers.

Fried fresh sardines

Ok, so this is really too simple to be called a recipe, but it's a really nice dinner. It does require access to fresh sardines which may be difficult depending on where in the world you are, but here they are a cheap and delicious (and healthy) fish.

So, I had two whole (cleaned) sardines - large ones, about 1/4 pound each. I dipped them in flour, salt, and I coarsly chopped a garlic clove each, crushed the cloves a little with the side of my knife, and put them in the stomach cavities. Heat a little olive oil in a pan, and fry for about 6-7 minutes on each side, until the flour turns golden brown. Remove the garlic before eating (it will still be mostly raw and will overpower the fish if you bite into it). Enjoy.

Red Turkey Chili

Okay, this is gonna be like Jen's, but more on the red side and it's a bit more complicated -- it's a chili recipe I made up by combining a bunch of recipes that looked good. The amounts are estimates -- I just wing it, but this is basically on the recipe card I have. Oh, and you can make it vegetarian -- that's why I used to do, when I ate less meat.

Ingredients

• 3 ribs of celery
  
• 2 onions
  
• 3 carrots
  
• 3-4 cloves garlic
  
• 1-2 zucchinis
  
• 1/2 to 1 dried chipotle pepper (1/2 if you're Jen; 3-4 if you're Maryam)
  
• 4-7 plum tomatoes
  
• 1 tsp cumin
  
• 1 T chili powder
  
• 1/2 tsp coriander
  
• 1/4 tsp allspice
  
• 2 tsp oregano
  
• 1 can each: kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans
  
• 1 large can crushed or diced tomatoes
  
• 1 lb. ground turkey (or ground beef?)
  
• 1 small package frozen corn (if not you or the person you're cooking for are on the SBD)
  
• a bunch of fresh cilantro
  

The directions are pretty standard. Some preparatory steps: Drain and rinse the beans, and prepare the pepper by boiling some water and soaking it in about 1/2 to 1 cup boiling water.

Cook the turkey in a big pot (I always have to add some oil so it doesn't stick); throw in some salt and a few spices. After it's cooked, put in a separate bowl and set aside.

In the same pot, add some more oil and saute all the vegetables -- I usually start with the onions & celery, then add the carrots and garlic. Add chopped zucchini and tomatoes and all the spices last. Let it cook a bit.

Finally, add the tomatoes to the pot, chop the chipotle pepper and add it along with some or all of its soaking water to the pot. Add the frozen corn. Add the ground turkey.

Simmer for a LONG time. Add more spices if you think it needs it. When you're ready to take it off the stove, add the chopped fresh cilantro.

That's it! It makes a lot -- it'll get you through a good part of the week. Mary likes to have it with melted cheese on top. :)

Modified Keema

I'm currently on the South Beach diet. And I also currently have three kids with very disparate and definitive food tastes. I was lucky to get requests for hamburgers from Aden and Spaghetti and Meatballs from Kalan, so I bought a family pack of ground beef and went at it.

Keema is a ground meat dish usually with peas. Comfort food. I made this in my trusty Le Crueset pot, but it will work equally well in a slow cooker I'd imagine. In case someone fancies a bit of Indian...

First on chopping. I have a German hand grinder that chops things very very small. A food processor of course works for those with that sort of technology at hand. Decent knife skills are also good of course, although I was cooking 5 dishes simultaneiously and need to move fast.

Saute minced onions (one large or whatever is on hand), a generous amount of minced garlic. When they are decently sweated, put ground coriander, cumin, and curry to taste (I twice the coriander). After a minute or so, add three to four large minced zucchini (this is a huge modification, but it made for a very nice texture) let it sweat for a while and then a handful of minced meat. Cook this for a while until the meat loses the pink. I then threw in a fair amount of tomato which made it deliciously sloppy joe like. Add salt and pepper to taste. I also threw in a chopped jalepeno and some chopped cilantro.

Eat with rice. If you aren't on the South Beach diet like I am.

Chocolate Brownie Pudding Cake

Joe and I made a delicious gooey chocolately-peanut-buttery cake from this recipe. It's very rich, so good for sharing (and great with vanilla ice cream or coffee). What we did:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp cocoa
  
• 2 1/2 cups brownie mix (half of a 21.5oz pkg)
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (Smuckers Natural)
  
• 1 tablespoon soft butter

Combine 3/4 cup water, brown sugar, and cocoa in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.

In the meantime, combine the remaining ingredients and 1/4 cup water in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a spoon.

Spread the batter evenly in the bottom of a lightly buttered slow cooker.

Pour boiling mixture over the batter.

Cover and cook on high about 2 hours; turn heat off and let stand for about 30 minutes. Or, carry slow cooker in 30 degree weather a few blocks over to the Secret Santa party where you will serve the cake.

If you make this in a 5-qt slow cooker, it will wind up being about an inch thick.

Biscuits with blueberries and cream

I have been craving biscuits for about a week now, but I didn't feel like doing things from scratch today. I happened to have some Trader Joe's buttermilk biscuit dough cubes in the freezer, so I plopped two of them in the oven for 8 minutes. A sure and easy way to get really really tasty biscuits!

But I was out of honey, my favorite topping! So instead I topped them with blueberry pie filling and whipped cream. It was really good and took all of maybe 12 minutes.

Gourmet Triscuit Pizzas

We were hungry for a quick lunch and had some strange odds and ends in the fridge, which resulted in these amazing little pizzas:

(sized to serve 2 for a light lunch and fit on our toaster oven pan)

20 original Triscuits
20 pepperoni slices
10 sun-dried tomato slices cut in half
about 1/2 cup of feta
about 1/4 cup tomato sauce
handful of grated parmesan cheese

First, I lined the toaster oven pan with aluminum foil and then Triscuits. Then on each Triscuit I put a pepperoni slice, half a sun-dried tomato piece, a teaspoon of tomato sauce and a bit of feta. Finally, I sprinkled the whole tray with parmesan cheese and put it in the toaster oven on toast for about 5 minutes (until the first tips get brown).

These were so good! I think they would make a delicious and easy party snack. I wish I had taken a picture for you before we devoured them.

We make about a million variations on the Triscuit pizza, different sauces and cheeses, veggies and meat. It is almost impossible to go wrong. If you like them, Triscuits are the best because they bake without burning and don't get soggy when sauced.

Oven-braised lamb shanks with sweet potatoes

This is a really straightforward use of lamb shanks, which are a meat I really like. The quantities below are for 1-2, depending on the size of the lamb shank and appetite.

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium/large onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bullion cube (chicken)
2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced (peel if you like, I don't)
1 large lamb shank, or 2 small ones (I used 2 shoulder shanks tonight)
1/3 cup white wine
1 bayleaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (fresh is better if you have it, of course)

1. Put oil in casserole dish, making sure it covers the bottom. Put lamb shank(s) in, roll around in oil until they are covered completely.
2. Pre-heat oven to 180 c (350 f), and put lamb in. Let it cook for 10 minutes or so, until lamb starts browning.
3. Remove lamb, and insert onion (and cover dish). Put back in oven until onion starts going clear (about 5-6 minutes for me)
4. Add garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper, and return to oven for 2-3 minutes.
5. Stir everything well, and add lamb and sweet potato slices. Cover about halfway with water, and add wine, bayleaf and crumble the bullion cube into the liquid.
6. Cover the casserole dish, and put in oven for 45 minutes. Turn the lamb shanks over, then cook for about 45 more minutes, when lamb is so tender it falls off the bone.
7. Optionally, If you like your meat a bit crispier, turn the meat over once more, and cook for 10-15 minutes uncovered.

If you feel like it, once you remove the lamb and potatoes, you can strain the liquid, reduce it and add a little flour to make a gravy. I don't normally bother.

Incredibly Easy Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy

Dinner from Sunday. I've definitely made stew with all-fresh vegetables and herbs and whatnot, but if you're pressed for time, this takes about 5 minutes to prepare.

2 lbs. beef stew meat
1 lb package frozen stew vegetables
1 10 3/4-oz can condensed golden mushroom soup (Campbells's makes this)
2/3 cup Burgundy (or any earthy/woody cheap red wine)
1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca

Put frozen vegetables in slow cooker.
Put meat on top on vegetables.

In a medium bowl, stir together soup, wine, 1/3 cup water, and tapioca.
Pour mixture over meat and veggies.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for about 4 hours.
Try not to salivate too badly as your apartment is filled with the intoxicating fragrance of stewing beef.

Eat with crusty bread.

Crockpot Korean-style spare ribs

I made pork spare ribs in the crockpot last night, check it out. They were amazing and took like 3 minutes to prepare.

White Turkey Chili, customizable

This white turkey chili is yummy and easy to put together. I don't like lots of spice in my food, so I disembowel the jalapenos before mincing them, but you could leave in the ribs and seeds for more heat. Makes enough for ~4 servings.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large-ish jalapeno or two small ones, minced (I remove the ribs and seeds, cuz I'm a spice baby)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 lb ground turkey (93% fat-free)
2 cans cannellini beans (15.5 oz), drained and rinsed

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.
Add onion, jalapeno, garlic, oregano and cumin to the saucepan.
Cook, stirring occasionally, till vegetables begin to soften (3-4 minutes)

Add turkey and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink (a few minutes)

While the turkey is cooking, add 1 1/2 cups of water and the beans to a large pot.
Bring the water to a boil, while mashing some of the beans against the side of the pot to release starch.

Once the turkey mix is ready (no longer pink), add that to the pot with the beans and water. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until thickened, 5-10 minutes.

Add salt and pepper as desired (note: I almost never add salt/pepper, the chili is flavorful enough on its own I find). Eat with crusty bread.

1/2 Butternut Squash burning a hole in my pocket

I finally decided to do something about the half a butternut squash I've been pushing around the fridge. The only requirement was not going outside in the frigid weather. A Food magazine consultation with mom uncovered a baked shell recipe with squash and onions. Tasty.

2 large onions, halved, and thinly sliced
3 T olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
winter squash puree
1 tp. rosemary
1 lb small pasta
1 1/2 c pasta water
1 c parmesan
3 slices crusty bread, cubed
1 T olive oil
1 tp. rosemary

Heat oil over low heat, add onions, s&p, cover and cook for 15 min. Uncover, raise heat to medium, and cook another 25 min till nice and caramelized.

Meanwhile bake your buttered, seasoned squash in a 400-deg oven for 30 min. Skin and mash when thoroughly gushy. Add to the onions with a teaspoon rosemary.

My shells looked more like fusilli. Yum. Cook 2 min less than directions. SAVE 1 1/2 cups pasta water. [I always forget to do that, I get all caught up in the steamy facial aspect of pasta cooking...water worked alright, but I had to simmer longer.]

Add pasta water to onion/squash mixture and simmer a bit.

Place pasta, onion / squash mixture and parmesan in a 9x13 pan. Top with cubed crusty bread covered in 1 T olive oil and 1 t rosemary. Bake at 375 for 15-20 min.

Drink a Dark & Stormy on the side.

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese with Tomato Basil Soup

Sometimes when I'm working at the department I head to Karen's on Astor for lunch, and get a small half mac&cheese/half tomato-basil soup with a roll for lunch. It's cheesy and creamy and hot and delicious. Today I decided to recreate it at home.

For the mac and cheese component, I adapted a recipe I found at Culinary Cory. The main substitution was Muenster cheese for Velveeta (eeeew, Velveeta...), but I also used slightly less salt than originally called for. Here's the tweaked version I made:

Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
3 cups Cavatappi pasta (dry)
3 Tbl. unsalted butter
8 oz. Muenster cheese, cubed
1 ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 5 minutes or until it is just under al dente. Drain and place in the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients to the pasta and stir until well combined. Cook on high for 2 – 3 hours stirring about every 30 minutes.

For the rest:

While the mac & cheese in its final burbly minutes of cooking, heat up some Imagine Organic Creamy Tomato Basil soup in one pan, and boil some shelled edamame in water in another.
Put a big ladleful of mac & cheese in a bowl.
Pour the hot tomato basil soup over it.
Drain the edamame, put in a separate bowl to serve on the side. Lightly salt the edamame, if you're into salt.

The result is creamy, filling comfort food perfect for a cold rainy night. And it looks pretty, too (orange-yellow next to bright green)

Asian pork chops

I have a slowcooker recipe for Asian pork ribs that is absolutely to die for, and we recently got some farm-fresh pork chops from my husband's cousin's farm. So I am trying something new: Asian pork chops.

The marinade is something like:

1/2 cup hoisin sauce (get it at the Asian market or sometimes in the grocery store)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
splash of sesame oil
fresh ground ginger (I am using powder right now because I don't feel like running to the store--should be fine)

I haven't decided how I am going to cook them, but I am leaning toward baking. I'll let you know how it goes.

We are also having roasted beets tonight---if you haven't had beets before this is the way to go. We bake them covered with a little water in the pan and a sprig of rosemary. They are so delicious!

Breakfast: Part Deux

fried egg & spinach on whole wheat sourdough toast, with ketchup and pepper
a glass of OJ

First Breakfast of the Blog

a bowl of GO LEAN Crunch! Honey Almond Flax cereal with cut-up mango and 1% milk
black tea (Barry's)


I don't usually eat cereal for breakfast. I prefer to start my day with whole food (eggs, fruit) rather than corn that's been industrially separated into 20 different components and then reassembled and sold for $5/box. But the GO LEAN Crunch!s are pretty good - made with whole grains and filling (lots of protein and fiber), and yes, very crunchy. The Honey Almond Flax one tastes like an adult version of Honey Smacks.

First Lunch of the Blog

two slices of Bread Alone whole wheat sourdough toast, drizzled w/ extra-virgin olive oil
smoked sardines packed in olive oil (from Trader Joe's)
a cut-up persimmon
a couple squares of dark chocolate


Sardines are one of my favorite foods lately. They're cheap ($1-$2 per can) and full of healthy fat (esp. if you get them in olive oil), protein, and calcium (from those crunchy little bones). And since they're small fish near the bottom of the food chain you don't have to worry so much about mercury. And they are tasty! Well, if you like fish.

Pre-bed oatmeal

I eat a small meal every night before bed. I know, it's supposed to be bad for your digestion and cause acid reflux and all, but the fact is I am always hungry around 11:00p, because 11:00p is about 3 hours after dinner. I try to eat something that's low glycemic and calorie-rich, so I can sleep through the night and not wake up at 3p starving (yeah, that happens sometimes). Lately, this meal is oatmeal:

1/3-1/2 cup quick oats (usually storebrand but sometimes McCann's Quick Oats) cooked with milk or water on the stovetop (takes about 1 minute)
~ 1/4 cup walnuts
~ 1/4 cup dried cranberries
a couple squirts of honey

Very filling, doesn't require much energy to prepare or consume. Makes a good breakfast, too. Also portable - sometimes when I travel I pack the dry components in plastic bags.

Call for friends who make yummy food

My main reason for making this blog is that I would like to hear about and be inspired by the delicious things my friends are cooking and eating. If you would like to contribute (at whatever frequency or level of detail you like), send me an email!

First Dinner of the Blog

Salmon fillet cooked in olive oil, quinoa, steamed green beans

for dessert: Haagen Daz peach sorbet