Let me just begin by saying that I love cook books with pictures. Odds are if the book has a piece of meat with pretty grill marks, really shallow depth of field, or a cute title, I'm going to pick it up and take a look.
And that's what happened a few days ago at Barnes and Noble. I ran across a book called Super Duper Soups by Michael van Straten. "Healing soups for the mind and body," it said, as well as the deal-maker: on sale for $3.99 (I'm a sucker for a good deal).
Super Duper Soups is all about how your diet affects your health, your appearance, and even your mood. Then it goes on to recommend different soups to help cure your various ailments, whether it's a bad mood, bad skin, or lack of, uh, libido, let's say.
Having had two colds in three weeks (yes, you read that correctly), I decided to check out the immunity boosting chapter. The soup that caught my eye is called Vegetable Power. It's features vegetables that have allinase which, according to the book, "help boost natural resistance, attack invading organisms, help lower cholestorol, reduce blood pressure, and prevent blood clots." (page 17 for those of you reading along with me)
Sounds good, right?
VEGETABLE POWER SOUP
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped
1 tbsp flour
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
2 carrots, trimmed and peeled, cut into small dice
2 medium zucchini, cubed
1 leek, finely sliced
1 small parsnip, peeled and cut into small dice
6 cups vegetable stock
4 tbsp tomato paste
1)Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently sautee the onion. After a couple of minutes, add the garlic and sautee until soft.
2) Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mix well.
3) Add the rest of the vegetables, stock, tomato paste, and stir well.
4) Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are cooked.
I could not for the life of me find a zucchini, so I omitted that, but I think everything is going to be okay. The soup is delicious. A little on the tomato-ey side, but that's okay. If you don't like tomato so much, cut back on it or even leave it out all together, if you're feeling especially bold.
And can I just say how much fun it is to chop veggies and watch them simmer? That might have sounded sarcastic, but it's really not. There's snow on the ground, it's three days until Christmas, and the whole process of making soup was incredibly cozy. Even though I was at work in the morning and did a lot, I feel even more accomplished now that I've made soup. Delicious and healthy soup, no less.
12/22/09
10/22/09
Chorizo and Lentil Stew
I've been meaning to make this recipe for awhile now (about two weeks, I'd say), but life kept getting in the way. And by life, I really mean "being sick and not feeling like doing dishes."
Anyway. Aric and I decided that we wanted to try chorizo, so we bought some, then looked up a few recipes. As always, I try to sneak lentils in there, because I love the taste (and lentil is a fun word to say). I also have a stash of dried lentils sitting in the cupboard, begging to be used.
Chorizo and Lentil Stew
INGREDIENTS
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, sliced
* 3/4 pound bulk chorizo sausage
* 5 ribs celery, sliced
* 1 cup dried lentils
* 3 cups water
* 1 teaspoon ground dried turmeric
* 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, and cook until it turns golden brown, about 45 seconds. Add the chorizo sausage; cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in celery, and cook until the celery softens, about 4 minutes more.
2. Pour off any excess grease from the sausage, then add the lentils and water. Season with turmeric, curry powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.
This is a pretty decent recipe. I cut the celery too big, so it didn't break down as much as I would have liked.
I think I would throw some chopped onion in there next time. It just needed a little something extra.
Also, I might try this with brown lentils. I used red lentils, since the recipe didn't specify. The red lentils work, but I find that when I cook red lentils, they break down very quickly - I simmered this for about fifteen minutes, as opposed to the recommended 40, and the stew ended up very pasty. The lentils lost their shape and almost disintegrated.
When all is said and done, though, it was tasty, filling, and went well with the loaf of French bread sitting in the cupboard, begging to be eaten. I also suspect that this will freeze nicely.
Anyway. Aric and I decided that we wanted to try chorizo, so we bought some, then looked up a few recipes. As always, I try to sneak lentils in there, because I love the taste (and lentil is a fun word to say). I also have a stash of dried lentils sitting in the cupboard, begging to be used.
Chorizo and Lentil Stew
INGREDIENTS
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, sliced
* 3/4 pound bulk chorizo sausage
* 5 ribs celery, sliced
* 1 cup dried lentils
* 3 cups water
* 1 teaspoon ground dried turmeric
* 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, and cook until it turns golden brown, about 45 seconds. Add the chorizo sausage; cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in celery, and cook until the celery softens, about 4 minutes more.
2. Pour off any excess grease from the sausage, then add the lentils and water. Season with turmeric, curry powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.
This is a pretty decent recipe. I cut the celery too big, so it didn't break down as much as I would have liked.
I think I would throw some chopped onion in there next time. It just needed a little something extra.
Also, I might try this with brown lentils. I used red lentils, since the recipe didn't specify. The red lentils work, but I find that when I cook red lentils, they break down very quickly - I simmered this for about fifteen minutes, as opposed to the recommended 40, and the stew ended up very pasty. The lentils lost their shape and almost disintegrated.
When all is said and done, though, it was tasty, filling, and went well with the loaf of French bread sitting in the cupboard, begging to be eaten. I also suspect that this will freeze nicely.
9/18/09
Crockpot Coconut Chicken Curry
Ah, alliteration. Gotta love it.
So the other week I was watching Iron Chef American (it's a guilty pleasure) and the secret ingredient was coconut. The challenger is a master of Indian cuisine, and he was battling Morimoto (sp?), the Japanese master.
Frequently on the show they'll serve something that makes me go, "Ew!" But this time? All of their dishes looked fabulous, including the seafood, which I've never been able to bring myself to eat.
The dish that most caught my eye was coconut curry. Both challengers created their own versions, and they both looked so sweet-spicy-creamy-delicious that my mouth began to water. I knew immediately that I had to make some.
After hours of searching the internet, I was able to find a recipe that suited my needs. And so, I present you with Coconut Curry Chicken: Crockpot Edition. (I wish I could give someone credit for this recipe, but I lost track of whose it was and where I found it. If you are reading this and it is your recipe, thank you so much for posting it!)
Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)
* 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, more if desired)
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas, thawed
* 2-3 tablespoons toasted flaked coconut (optional)
Directions
1.Heat oil in a medium fry pan.
2.Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides.
3.Place potatoes and onion in crock pot.
4.Place chicken breasts on top.
5.Combine coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder, hot sauce and chicken broth in a bowl and stir thoroughly.
6.Add to crock pot.
7.Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
8.One half hour before serving, add peas on top of chicken mixture.
9.Just before serving, stir mixture thoroughly and sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using.
10.Serve over rice or Asian noodles, if desired.
I decided not to serve it with the flaked coconut, and it was great. Hardest part was not eating the food before it was ready. The whole house smelled of creamy, coconutty curry. I almost had to leave.
One hint, however - shake your can of coconut milk before you open and pour it. Apparently coconut milk seperates if it sits too long, and trying to mix it once it's in the crockpot is awkward and frustrating. Save your time and your sanity and give the can a good shake before you pour it.
So the other week I was watching Iron Chef American (it's a guilty pleasure) and the secret ingredient was coconut. The challenger is a master of Indian cuisine, and he was battling Morimoto (sp?), the Japanese master.
Frequently on the show they'll serve something that makes me go, "Ew!" But this time? All of their dishes looked fabulous, including the seafood, which I've never been able to bring myself to eat.
The dish that most caught my eye was coconut curry. Both challengers created their own versions, and they both looked so sweet-spicy-creamy-delicious that my mouth began to water. I knew immediately that I had to make some.
After hours of searching the internet, I was able to find a recipe that suited my needs. And so, I present you with Coconut Curry Chicken: Crockpot Edition. (I wish I could give someone credit for this recipe, but I lost track of whose it was and where I found it. If you are reading this and it is your recipe, thank you so much for posting it!)
Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)
* 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, more if desired)
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas, thawed
* 2-3 tablespoons toasted flaked coconut (optional)
Directions
1.Heat oil in a medium fry pan.
2.Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides.
3.Place potatoes and onion in crock pot.
4.Place chicken breasts on top.
5.Combine coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder, hot sauce and chicken broth in a bowl and stir thoroughly.
6.Add to crock pot.
7.Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
8.One half hour before serving, add peas on top of chicken mixture.
9.Just before serving, stir mixture thoroughly and sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using.
10.Serve over rice or Asian noodles, if desired.
I decided not to serve it with the flaked coconut, and it was great. Hardest part was not eating the food before it was ready. The whole house smelled of creamy, coconutty curry. I almost had to leave.
One hint, however - shake your can of coconut milk before you open and pour it. Apparently coconut milk seperates if it sits too long, and trying to mix it once it's in the crockpot is awkward and frustrating. Save your time and your sanity and give the can a good shake before you pour it.
Spaghetti with Sausage, Peas, and Garlic.
And speaking of sausage...
We did happen to have 1/3 of a pound of sausage leftover from our previous skillet adventures. About to go bad, I decided to use it up. I created a tasty dish which was heavily inspired by the latest issue of Rachel Ray's magazine, which features a really great article about pasta and various sauces you can make for it.
I decided to use spaghetti, since we have about three boxes sitting around. I was missing one ingredient for all but one of Rachel Ray's pasta sauce recipes - olive oil, garlic, and parsley.
Super simple. 1/3 cup of EVOO, 1/4 cup of chopped parsley (I used dried, but you could certainly use fresh), and 1 tbsp. garlic. Plus a dash of salt. Heat in a skillet over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle, then toss with your pasta.
The cool thing about the pasta article in the magazine is that it included ways to customize the various pasta sauces and make them a little more exciting (in case garlic and EVOO aren't thrilling enough for you). The one that really caught my eye was the garlic and EVOO base with the addition of sausage, red pepper flakes, and broccoli. In true Katie fashion, however, I didn't have broccoli and had to substitute something. I settled on peas, because they're delicious and in no way resemble broccoli (which I despise).
Once the garlic starts to sizzle, add the sausage (mine was already cooked, but you could use raw), 2 cups peas, and 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes .Or 1/4 TABLESPOON, if you're like me and can't read. It was delicious, regardless. The red pepper flakes, garlic, and sausage played together so nicely.
And this meal couldn't have come together any easier. While the pasta boils, prepare the sauce. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot, then combine the pasta and sauce with tongs. Boom. Done. Delicious.
Thank you, Rachel Ray, for being so awesome.
We did happen to have 1/3 of a pound of sausage leftover from our previous skillet adventures. About to go bad, I decided to use it up. I created a tasty dish which was heavily inspired by the latest issue of Rachel Ray's magazine, which features a really great article about pasta and various sauces you can make for it.
I decided to use spaghetti, since we have about three boxes sitting around. I was missing one ingredient for all but one of Rachel Ray's pasta sauce recipes - olive oil, garlic, and parsley.
Super simple. 1/3 cup of EVOO, 1/4 cup of chopped parsley (I used dried, but you could certainly use fresh), and 1 tbsp. garlic. Plus a dash of salt. Heat in a skillet over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle, then toss with your pasta.
The cool thing about the pasta article in the magazine is that it included ways to customize the various pasta sauces and make them a little more exciting (in case garlic and EVOO aren't thrilling enough for you). The one that really caught my eye was the garlic and EVOO base with the addition of sausage, red pepper flakes, and broccoli. In true Katie fashion, however, I didn't have broccoli and had to substitute something. I settled on peas, because they're delicious and in no way resemble broccoli (which I despise).
Once the garlic starts to sizzle, add the sausage (mine was already cooked, but you could use raw), 2 cups peas, and 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes .Or 1/4 TABLESPOON, if you're like me and can't read. It was delicious, regardless. The red pepper flakes, garlic, and sausage played together so nicely.
And this meal couldn't have come together any easier. While the pasta boils, prepare the sauce. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot, then combine the pasta and sauce with tongs. Boom. Done. Delicious.
Thank you, Rachel Ray, for being so awesome.
Sausage, Egg, Pepper, and Onion Breakfast Skillet
I believe I've mentioned it before, but Sunday morning breakfasts are a pretty awesome time in our house. It's one of two days when Aric and I can really spend time together, puttering around the kitchen, making toast and drinking coffee.
One of our favorite things to make is this hodge-podge of items we've always got in our kitchen: eggs (at 98 cents a dozen, how could you afford NOT to eat them), frozen diced green pepper (99 cents for a bag, and they last way longer than a fresh pepper would in my kitchen), onions, and bulk sausage.
First you want to start browning some sausage in a medium skillet. We started out using half a pound of sausage, but quickly discovered that not only was it expensive, but it was more than we could (and truly should) eat. So we've cut it down to 1/3 pound.
Brown the sausage about halfway and then add the chopped onion and green pepper. I like to let the green pepper sit out the entire time the sausage is browning because it's frozen, and I like to keep the cook time short. You could certainly use fresh, but I don't use them often enough to justify the cost.
In the meantime, crack and beat up four eggs. We used to do six eggs, in addition to the half pound of sausage, but again, quickly discovered that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Anyway, pour the eggs in and scramble them up. You can either season the eggs with salt and pepper before you add them to the pan, or afterward. I prefer before, but Aric prefers to season in the pan, and he's the one that usually cooks, so that's how we do it.
And if you're sitting there thinking to yourself, "What do you do with the raw sausage for two weeks until you use it up?" Well, we brown it all at once and then use it throughout the week. We're also thinking about portioning the sausage when we first get it home from the store and freezing the portions individually. I think freezing is going to work out for us much better, we just need to get around to doing it.
One of our favorite things to make is this hodge-podge of items we've always got in our kitchen: eggs (at 98 cents a dozen, how could you afford NOT to eat them), frozen diced green pepper (99 cents for a bag, and they last way longer than a fresh pepper would in my kitchen), onions, and bulk sausage.
First you want to start browning some sausage in a medium skillet. We started out using half a pound of sausage, but quickly discovered that not only was it expensive, but it was more than we could (and truly should) eat. So we've cut it down to 1/3 pound.
Brown the sausage about halfway and then add the chopped onion and green pepper. I like to let the green pepper sit out the entire time the sausage is browning because it's frozen, and I like to keep the cook time short. You could certainly use fresh, but I don't use them often enough to justify the cost.
In the meantime, crack and beat up four eggs. We used to do six eggs, in addition to the half pound of sausage, but again, quickly discovered that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Anyway, pour the eggs in and scramble them up. You can either season the eggs with salt and pepper before you add them to the pan, or afterward. I prefer before, but Aric prefers to season in the pan, and he's the one that usually cooks, so that's how we do it.
And if you're sitting there thinking to yourself, "What do you do with the raw sausage for two weeks until you use it up?" Well, we brown it all at once and then use it throughout the week. We're also thinking about portioning the sausage when we first get it home from the store and freezing the portions individually. I think freezing is going to work out for us much better, we just need to get around to doing it.
I'm giving my blog a complex.
Whoa, look who abandoned her blog for almost two months. Bad blogger!
I assure you, it's not for lack of eating. I've actually been eating some pretty tasty foods. It's just that life (what little life I have, anyway) has kind of taken over and made me not really want to make the clicky-clicks on the keyboard to talk about food.
And, in my renewed effort to keep this blog going and make it the best little blog ever, I am going to go through and clean up my ingredient tags. Nobody cares if I used salt - it's pretty much a given.
Anyway. On to the good stuff.
As a throwback to my last blog entry...yes, putting garlic cloves in the fridge helps them sprout. My garlics are growing quite nicely, with big green tops. What you are supposed to do is plant them in the fall, cover them with mulch through the winter, then harvest in the spring when the tops have wilted. Any time a plant comes with the instructions "harvest when tops have toppled" it makes me angry. I wish there were a more definitive sign than toppled tops. You can't measure topple. There was no Sir Isaac Topple in Renaissance Italy to invent some sort of measurement for the relative horizontal position of vegetable tops. So I feel that it's a terrible direction to give someone, "harvest when the greens have toppled." I have a tendency to think that when the vegetable top is point ever so slightly downward, it has toppled. I am, however, alarmist and generally bad at plants.
And, in further response to my garlic post, about chopping and saving my own garlic, I think it's cheaper to buy a big tub of pre-minced garlic. I can get garlic in a jar about the size of a pickle jar for about $4. Whereas I'd buy 4 cloves of garlic for about the same price, plus the cost of olive oil. And it wouldn't even last me nearly as long. The last big jar of garlic I had lasted me close to a year. Good cost savings right there, I think.
I assure you, it's not for lack of eating. I've actually been eating some pretty tasty foods. It's just that life (what little life I have, anyway) has kind of taken over and made me not really want to make the clicky-clicks on the keyboard to talk about food.
And, in my renewed effort to keep this blog going and make it the best little blog ever, I am going to go through and clean up my ingredient tags. Nobody cares if I used salt - it's pretty much a given.
Anyway. On to the good stuff.
As a throwback to my last blog entry...yes, putting garlic cloves in the fridge helps them sprout. My garlics are growing quite nicely, with big green tops. What you are supposed to do is plant them in the fall, cover them with mulch through the winter, then harvest in the spring when the tops have wilted. Any time a plant comes with the instructions "harvest when tops have toppled" it makes me angry. I wish there were a more definitive sign than toppled tops. You can't measure topple. There was no Sir Isaac Topple in Renaissance Italy to invent some sort of measurement for the relative horizontal position of vegetable tops. So I feel that it's a terrible direction to give someone, "harvest when the greens have toppled." I have a tendency to think that when the vegetable top is point ever so slightly downward, it has toppled. I am, however, alarmist and generally bad at plants.
And, in further response to my garlic post, about chopping and saving my own garlic, I think it's cheaper to buy a big tub of pre-minced garlic. I can get garlic in a jar about the size of a pickle jar for about $4. Whereas I'd buy 4 cloves of garlic for about the same price, plus the cost of olive oil. And it wouldn't even last me nearly as long. The last big jar of garlic I had lasted me close to a year. Good cost savings right there, I think.
7/28/09
Garden Plans
It's late summer and most of our plants have given us all that they have to give.
So now it's time to look to the future, plan an autumn garden, and think about next summer and what we'd like to grow.
I did some research and found that garlic, onions, and leeks grow quite nicely during the late summer. Squashes and other similar plants are also grow quite nicely, although Aric and I don't really eat those kinds of vegetables. Spinach, cabbage, and broccoli are also possibilities.
For now, however, we are going to concentrate on the garlic. How awesome would it be to grow your own garlic?
I'm an avid fan of Sandra's Money Saving Meals (Food Network, Sunday mornings, check it out!). Sandra says that it's cheaper to mince and preserve your own garlic than it is to buy the pre-minced garlic from the store. I usually buy the pre-minced, so I'm thinking about pricing it out. Is it cheaper to buy a 99 cent bulb of garlic than it is to buy the pre-made? We shall see.
Anyway. Back to the garden. I'm researching how exactly to go about growing garlic. I know you plant one clove for every garlic bulb you want, but I'm trying to find out if you need to prepare the clove in any way. I thought I read somewhere that you have to soak the clove in water and keep it in the fridge until it sprouts little roots (something about garlic sprouting better in chilly climates). We shall see.
So now it's time to look to the future, plan an autumn garden, and think about next summer and what we'd like to grow.
I did some research and found that garlic, onions, and leeks grow quite nicely during the late summer. Squashes and other similar plants are also grow quite nicely, although Aric and I don't really eat those kinds of vegetables. Spinach, cabbage, and broccoli are also possibilities.
For now, however, we are going to concentrate on the garlic. How awesome would it be to grow your own garlic?
I'm an avid fan of Sandra's Money Saving Meals (Food Network, Sunday mornings, check it out!). Sandra says that it's cheaper to mince and preserve your own garlic than it is to buy the pre-minced garlic from the store. I usually buy the pre-minced, so I'm thinking about pricing it out. Is it cheaper to buy a 99 cent bulb of garlic than it is to buy the pre-made? We shall see.
Anyway. Back to the garden. I'm researching how exactly to go about growing garlic. I know you plant one clove for every garlic bulb you want, but I'm trying to find out if you need to prepare the clove in any way. I thought I read somewhere that you have to soak the clove in water and keep it in the fridge until it sprouts little roots (something about garlic sprouting better in chilly climates). We shall see.
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